


Violent Delights

by NekoRose (PirouettePrisoner)



Series: Violent Delights [1]
Category: Dress Up! Time Princess (Video Game)
Genre: Character Death, Dom/sub Undertones, Eventual Happy Ending, Explicit Language, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Ownership, Slow Burn, Torture, Triggers, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-14
Updated: 2021-02-06
Packaged: 2021-03-09 20:53:36
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 44,222
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27532555
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PirouettePrisoner/pseuds/NekoRose
Summary: Princess Signy’s quiet life is disrupted when a dark sorcerer steals her hand in marriage. Subjected to his odd behaviors and often-violent outbursts, she doesn’t anticipate to feel anything other than resentment towards him. She soon finds herself caught between her sinful lust for the Owl Sorcerer and her pure friendship with the Swan Prince.
Relationships: Audwin/Signy (Dress Up! Time Princess)
Series: Violent Delights [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2064195
Comments: 79
Kudos: 100





	1. Dance with the Devil

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: All Dress Up! Time Princess characters belong to IGG Mobile Games Inc. No copyright infringement is intended. Plagiarism is illegal and unethical, so do not copy or reproduce this work in any language. Thank you.
> 
> Plot begins canon and gradually becomes non-canon.  
> The tags become more relevant following Chapter 1.

Under the golden radiance of dazzling chandeliers, the ballroom was alive with music, dance, and conversation. A majority of the foreign princes had taken to the champagne table, drinking away their communal disappointment in my polite refusal to dance. Others seized the opportunity to upkeep political bridges with the aristocrats. I aimlessly wandered between the multitude of temporary cliques that had popped up around the perimeter of the ballroom. Approaching the mass of princes gathered around the sea of bubbling champagne flutes, I smiled and greeted them out of courtesy. 

“Princess!” Ferdinand welcomed, flashing a wide, toothy grin. “Have you finally come to accept my invitation to dance?”

“Unfortunately, no.” I tucked a strand of pale blonde hair behind my ear and felt my face flush. “I’m feeling rather tired.” 

“Of course,” another prince interjected, though I couldn’t produce him a name. “It’s nearly midnight.”

“You should proceed with the proposal, princess, before you tire yourself out too much.” A dark-haired prince sporting a smirk stepped towards me, placing an intrusive hand on my elbow.

I instinctively jolted away from his touch, my shoulders collapsing forward despite my intensive posture training. “I’m— I’m actually, um—”

“That’s a wonderful idea, Raymond!” Ferdinand set his empty flute on the table and clapped his bulky hands as he made haste towards me. “I’d be more than happy to escort you to His Majesty, sweet Signy.”

“You _dare_ speak to the princess so informally?” Honore snapped, stepping in front of me to block Ferdinand’s path. “She is a future queen, not one of those common whores I’m sure you’re well-accustomed to paying for.”

The other princes tilted their heads to each other and murmured quietly. 

“If you were an actual prince, you would refrain from using such vulgar language around a lady!” Ferdinand prowled closer with a grimace and shoved Honore’s chest with both hands. “I’d like to see how much of a man you really are.”

I lifted my glittery, lavender-pink dress above my ankles and hurriedly dashed away from the impending fight. The harsh reality of Aldous’ absence from the ball was sinking in at last and the room started to tilt in odd directions. My stomach churned with nausea as my vision blurred, all the clashing sounds of the ball merging into one roaring, unbearably loud blob of noise. I almost made it to the ballroom doors to escape the cacophony when they unexpectedly opened before me.

“Signy.” A familiar figure strode inside, his voice as clear as a summer’s day above the perceived chaos swirling around me. He smiled languidly, his white-gloved fingers caressing my cheek once he arrived in front of me. 

“Aldous!” I breathed a sigh of relief, his mere presence melting away the tension in my muscles and easing the spinning sensation in my head. 

“Didn’t I tell you I prefer to be fashionably late?” His hand sneaked under my chin and lifted it up so I was looking straight into his face. He had the features and attire of my best friend, but why did his expression and mannerisms seem like those of an arrogant stranger?

“No,” I replied truthfully. “I was starting to suspect you weren’t coming.”

“I wouldn’t miss this night for the world, my silly princess.” Aldous removed his grip from my chin and tapped my nose as if I were a small child being playfully reprimanded. “Care to dance with me?”

I pretended not to hear the edge in his question and extended my delicate hand to him. Perhaps he was just nervous. “Of course, my prince.”

He caged my hand tightly in his grasp and led me to the center of the ballroom, where he gracefully straightened into proper dancing form. His body was unnecessarily close to mine as he instigated an elegant game of stepping and twirling. The ballroom chatter quieted as the nobles observed our stiff, formal dance; I caught Father’s eye for a moment and he grinned with a nod of approval.

“You are the most beautiful woman in this kingdom.” Aldous’ soft lips brushed against my left ear during a slow interlude in the orchestra’s music.

I didn’t reply, unable to shake the feeling that there was something very wrong with Aldous tonight. His flattery felt disingenuous and it set my nerves on fire with alarm. Was I being manipulated? What happened to my loyal swan? 

“Signy, I fell in love with you as Snowy and once again as Aldous.” He gradually slowed our dance to a stop, his lips curling into a broad smile. “Will you offer me your hand in marriage?”

I forced a timid smile amid the war inside myself. If I said no, I would be going against my word and I would be obligated to select another prince tonight. But if I said yes, would I be committing myself to this ‘new’ Aldous? Perhaps Aldous had only charmed his way into my affections to break his curse and now that he had secured the marriage, he was showing his true colors. 

The thought scared me, but the thought of walking down the aisle with Ferdinand scared me more. 

“Yes,” I spoke with conviction and my smile turned sincere. This was the right thing to do and I was probably just overthinking Aldous’ behavior. I didn’t know him that well as a human, after all. “Let us approach His Majesty to commence the official announcement.”

“Lead the way.”

I convinced myself that I was overjoyed to be proposing — this was my loophole out of a political marriage, after all — as I approached Father and Uncle Arthur at the front of the ballroom. I put on my most cheerful mask to avoid raising suspicion with my family.

“You must be Signy’s good friend,” the Chief Minister said crisply. “I am glad you made an appearance, although I must say you nearly missed the ceremony.”

“I deeply apologize,” Aldous replied in a dignified tone as he bowed respectfully before the two older men. “It was not my intention to offend the generous hosts of such a prestigious gathering. My name is Aldous.”

Father chuckled heartily. “Seeing my daughter so thrilled with your presence has earned you a pass, Aldous. Signy, I assume this is the noble you elect to marry?”

“Yes, Father. I am ready to propose.” 

“Excellent!” The King praised before coughing coarsely into his fist.

Worried, I distracted myself with adjusting my tiara and combing my long, light blonde tresses with my fingers. All eyes would be on me in a matter of moments. I prayed my rosy lipstick was still intact despite all my lip-biting. 

Uncle Arthur clapped his hands sharply, booming like thunder in the predominantly empty space. “Attention! Attention!”

A tidal wave of silence washed over the massive room, submerging all conversation. As a princess, I wasn’t a stranger to attention, but I feared I would never grow accustomed to dozens of nobility all scrutinizing me at once. My toes curled in the confines of my high heels. 

“Thank you all,” Father coughed a few times, “for joining us on this very special evening. As you are aware, my daughter is turning twenty years of age. I have come to the conclusion that it is time to name my heir. I, King Edward XII, give you Signy — crown princess of Corynne!”

Applause burst from the crowd, along with a few inappropriate whistles and hollars presumably from the foreign princes. I tried not to be bothered by the fact that Aldous never clapped, not even once. Instead, I offered an amiable smile to my joyous subjects, my own hands folded neatly at my stomach. 

“Now, I know how anxious you’ve all been to know the lucky man who gets to rule beside our future queen. I am pleased to announce that a decision has been made.” Father gestured a hand to me. “I will allow Princess Signy to deliver the reveal herself.”

I gave one final glance to Aldous for confirmation. He nodded encouragingly, his expression calm, although the clenched fists at his sides suggested otherwise. I stepped forward and spoke at the top of my mellow voice, “Before I reveal my selection, I would like to express my gratitude to all the princes who traveled here to take part in this ceremony. I am honored by your kind gifts and even kinder words. It has been such a pleasure to get to know each and every one of you.”

At my pause in speech, another round of applause took place. I was lying, of course, but it was my royal duty to keep Corynne’s political ties strong — even if I had to kiss pretentious, pompous asses to achieve that.

“I freely extend my hand in marriage to Aldous, prince of Swan Lake.” I turned to face the young man in the ivory-gold uniform beside me, taking both his hands in mine as a courtly measure.

The applause was, needless to say, less enthusiastic. Murmurs circulated the ballroom and I could sense the widespread disapproval of the guests. I reminded myself that I was the princess, not them, and the decision was mine to make.

“I freely accept your proposal, Signy, crown princess of Corynne.” Aldous gave his official response, one I had rehearsed with him only the night before. 

My now-fiancé squeezed my hands almost painfully and when I looked down, I noticed a magenta ring on his right hand I was certain wasn’t there before. It emitted a faint, eerie glow and black sparkles swirled within the stone. Black magic!

I inhaled sharply and tried to pull away, but Aldous gripped my hands tighter and yanked me even closer. He shook his head, his smile suddenly gone: a warning. I whispered with blurry, stinging eyes, “You’re hurting me!”

He relaxed his crushing grip, but kept his hands snugly around mine. In an instant, as if nothing happened, his cordial smile returned and the ripples of his taut muscles dissipated. My heart hammered in my chest and I looked to Father, but he was clapping vigorously and focused on the cheering assembly. Uncle Arthur was the same. They wouldn’t hear me if I called out to them. 

_Somebody help me,_ I silently begged. Someone had to notice my frightened expression and the stray tear that had slid down my flushed face.

“Thank you all again for joining us,” Father began once the noise fell. “I’m afraid we have reached the conclusion of the ceremony—”

At the back of the ballroom, two massive french doors swung open and banged against the castle walls. Every head in the ballroom swiveled and craned to see who had the nerve to interrupt the King’s speech in such a rude manner.

“Signy, get away from him!” Another Aldous stumbled inside, this one bloody and limping terribly while gripping his injured arm. The guests parted for him, producing a clear walkway to me. “He’s the Owl Sorcerer! It’s an illusion!”

“Aldous!” I cried out to the real Aldous, taking the opportunity to once again try to break away from the fake Aldous’ grasp on my hands. He wrenched me against his chest and swung a strong arm around my middle, keeping me hostage despite my desperate struggling. 

Without hesitation, the men mobilized. Father, Uncle Arthur, and the princes drew their swords and sprinted towards me with an onslaught of enraged commands such as “Stop!” and “Release her!” 

“That fucking imbecile,” the fake Aldous muttered as he dragged me a few paces backwards before an explosion of magenta fire blazed hotly in a high ring surrounding the two of us.

The magical flames were enough to send the armed men staggering. Black smoke coiled around us, polluting the air and burning my lungs. It was too bright and hazy to see anything, but I could hear the guests screaming and running in absolute chaos. 

“You think a few pink sparks scare me?” Ferdinand bellowed from somewhere in front of us. “My sword is long enough to pierce you through your pathetic shield!”

“No!” I shouted, but my quiet voice was lost in the pandemonium. My struggling body was restrained against the front of the fake Aldous’ body and Ferdinand’s sword would certainly kill him — after striking through me first.

Beyond the wall of magenta fire, I glimpsed the outline of a burly man fast approaching and I struggled harder. Ferdinand was a wild, daft bull and I didn’t see a way to escape his blind charge. Tears of terror streamed down my face, likely washing down a noticeable amount of makeup.

“Close your eyes,” the fake Aldous murmured solemnly in my ear while one of his hands guided my head into his shoulder. I trembled against him.

“For King Edwar—” Ferdinand’s voice was cut off by a resounding _thunk_ against the floor. 

Around us, the roar of flames died down and the heat became less intense, though I could still hear snaps of fire at our feet. Silence befell the ballroom moments after, presumably because most guests had escaped. I could hear a woman sobbing somewhere close. Not a peep from Ferdinand besides a strange gurgle that generated a series of disturbing mental images.

I cried softly into the fake Aldous’ patterned jacket, my eyes squeezed tightly shut. A distant part of me knew Ferdinand wasn’t going to return to Glorion.

“I expect wedding preparations to begin imminently.” My captor spoke at normal volume, but his apathetic voice echoed powerfully off the vast walls of the ballroom. “The ceremony will commence no later than the summer solstice, at which time King Edward XII will resign and relinquish Corynne to my sovereign.”

“No,” Uncle Arthur disputed, a quiver in his voice. “We do not take orders from scum like you, nor anyone else for that matter.”

“Oh? Perhaps you’d like to meet a similar fate as the fool at your feet.” He countered, this time his voice drastically different. I didn’t dare look, but he no longer sounded like Aldous, so I presumed his illusion had faded. “Besides, your precious princess proposed to me, remember? She wanted this.”

“She wanted _me_!” Aldous yelled. I felt a sense of relief knowing he had bravely stayed behind. “You may have her hand, but you’ll never have her heart!”

“That’s fine by me,” the Owl Sorcerer replied evenly. “I never wanted it.”

Father spoke up this time, his frail voice fraught with illness. “Signy offered marriage to Aldous of Swan Lake. She owes you nothing, so take your leave! You are not welcome in my castle.”

“This is your last warning, Edward. I’d prefer not to kill my bride’s father in front of her, but I won’t hesitate if you continue to defy me.”

I tensed, opening my eyes and squirming against him. My assumption was accurate: the man standing with me no longer mirrored Aldous. He was a lanky (albeit muscular) man garbed in dark fabric, his cape layered in black feathers. At his belt, I spotted a sheathed dagger and my fingers twitched.

“Signy, do it!” A female voice struck the air. Miss Roslin?

I used my adrenaline to twist my right arm out of his grasp and seize the dagger. In the struggle, I only managed to slash his side with the blade instead of his abdomen, but it was impactful enough for him to release me. Hastily stepping out of my heels, I leapt over the small ring of magenta flames and rushed over to my family. Miss Roslin hugged me and I gently pushed her off to face the threat.

“I’ll deal with you later,” the sorcerer threatened quietly, almost like a note to himself, and placed a hand over the weeping gash. His eyes glimmered the same magenta as his ring.

An elongated lump on the floor between us captured my attention. The man in gold-brown clothes was lying face-down, his arms splayed out. The sharp point of his sword was sticking straight out the back of his neck, having pierced through the front of his throat. I fought the urge to vomit at the sight of blood pooling around Ferdinand's head and shoulders.

“I believe we were discussing the wedding.” The sorcerer both looked and sounded exceedingly impatient and agitated.

“Don’t listen to him,” Aldous warned me. “You don’t have to marry him.”

“I do.” I lowered my head and bit my bottom lip to hold my tears in.

“I won’t let you.” His words shook with fury.

Father and Uncle Arthur stayed silent. Their grim expressions suggested they realized that the consequences of our refusal would be dire not just for the royal family, but for the entire kingdom as well. Those who practiced black magic were not forces to trifle with and no amount of manpower could rival spellwork.

I lifted my head to acknowledge the sorcerer in black. “I will see to it that preparations are made, but I want your word that you will not hurt anyone else.”

“No.”

“Pardon?” My fingers strangled the hilt of the dagger.

“No, you do not have my word.”

I shook my head slowly and brandished the dagger in a surge of anger, knowing I wouldn’t allow myself to miss again. In my grip, the dagger suddenly transformed into a black snake and I dropped it with a yelp. Its magenta eyes glowed mystically like its master.

“Keep it as a token of affection,” the sorcerer said smugly before transforming himself into a black owl. He soared up towards the vaulted ceiling and smashed through a high window, sending shards of glass raining down the far wall. The last of his magic flames extinguished themselves, leaving a ring of char on the gold tile. 

Aldous crushed the snake’s head under his boot.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! I love nice comments, but keep in mind that mean comments will be deleted. The tags give ample warning so if you don't like the contents of my fanfic, respectfully find something else to read.


	2. Blood for Blood

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Distressed from days filled with wedding preparations, Princess Signy takes action.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The tags become especially relevant this chapter, so please don't take them lightly. There are acts of violence and triggers. PS, this is the last chapter that will take inspiration from canon.

“You look… breathtaking,” Miss Roslin said as I emerged from behind the floral room divider.

Beside her on the white chaise lounge, Aldous’ eyes glazed over me with the same despondent expression he had been wearing since we entered the bridal boutique. I had tried on a handful of luxurious gowns, veils, and gloves, but I had yet to see myself in the full-length mirror and gawk in awe. Perhaps I merely hadn’t found ‘the dress,’ or perhaps I was too distressed by the fact my fiancé was a manipulative, murderous bastard.

“Do I?” I murmured, slowly turning to gaze into the mirror. My reflection still startled me; it was difficult to believe the ragged young woman staring back was a princess. Her pale blonde tresses were pulled into a tangly, disheveled ponytail and deep purple crescents shadowed her bloodshot eyes. Her face was void of makeup and any trace of joy.

Below my head, however, was a truly exquisite gown, though the pleasure it inspired wasn’t enough to produce a smile. It was a mermaid-style masterpiece: the upper half was tightly contoured to my feminine curves while the lower half exploded into a blooming skirt of layered tulle. Sheer white lace extended up from my breasts, across my chest, and down the lengths of my arms. A tulle veil with a thin overlay of matching lace floated down my back and dragged behind me, secured in place by my gold tiara encrusted with priceless diamonds. 

“You do, sweetheart. If only your mother were here to see you in this.” Miss Roslin’s voice cracked and I caught her blotting her eyes with a silk handkerchief in the mirror’s reflection.

I turned around, my fingers fidgeting at the thought of Mother. What would she say if she were still here? Would she approve of the marriage to protect the kingdom, or would she fight for her daughter’s happiness?

“I hate it,” Aldous spat, his usual composure shattered by bitterness. “The Owl Sorcerer doesn’t deserve to see you in such a dress. Try something uglier.”

Miss Roslin pursed her rouge lips, tucking the handkerchief back into her clutch. 

“Don’t I deserve to see me in this dress?” I said quietly, lowering my head.

“Signy…” Guilt splashed across Aldous’ face and his palms upturned in his lap.

“Forget it.” I shook my head and exhaled deeply, running my hands over the gorgeous white gown. “I really fancy this one, Miss Roslin.”

She smiled weakly. “This is it, then?”

“Yes.” I tried to return the smile, but the corners of my mouth only twitched.

Aldous was no longer looking at me. His stare was fixated on a tall vase on the other end of the private dressing room. I felt as if Snowy was drifting further and further away from me with each passing day.

“Then let’s return to the castle before it gets much later.” Miss Roslin rose to her feet and approached me, placing a hand on the small of my back. “I’ll help you take this last one off.”

By the time our carriage delivered us to the castle, it was nearly midnight. I hadn’t wanted Aldous to come along but Father and Miss Roslin thought I would enjoy trying on the dresses if a friend was there. To accommodate his curse, we had to leave after sundown and as a result we were all quite exhausted from the long day.

Aldous accompanied me to my bedroom per usual. He insisted he sleep in a chair in case the sorcerer turned up, despite the nightly guard already stationed outside my door. I didn’t mind his presence, but I always got bashful when he saw me in my thin nightgown. Sometimes his eyes would linger on my nipples poking against the fabric and the temperature in the room would suddenly increase.

“Do you really think he’ll come here before the wedding?” I asked from my place on the window seat as I gazed out at the forest cast in shadow.

Aldous’ footsteps thudded up behind me. “I can’t say. If it is of any consolation, I don’t think we will be seeing him any time soon.”

“What makes you say that?”

“Every spell he casts expends energy. He cast a handful on top of the powerful illusion that night, meaning his magic is severely weakened at the moment.” 

I leaned my head against the cold glass. “I didn’t know you were versed in the laws of magic.”

“I’m not,” he replied stiffly. “I picked up some knowledge when I was searching for other ways to break my curse.”

“You never told me why he cursed you in the first place.” My warm breath fogged the window and I drew little shapes in the condensation with my index finger.

“A misunderstanding,” was all he said.

I removed myself from the window seat and walked past Aldous. It was too chilly to remain in only my nightgown, so I had on a thick coat insulated with grade-I beaver fur. I tugged it snugly around me and crawled into bed, collapsing on the massive mound of pillows.

“Goodnight.” Aldous slumped into his large armchair in the corner, his hand resting on the hilt of his sheathed sword.

“Night,” I whispered.

* * *

The next few days were a blur of wedding preparations and political mentorship from Uncle Arthur. We were approaching mid-March and the sorcerer explicitly expressed he desired the wedding by the summer solstice, which left us with a mere three months to plan the ceremony. Invitations were set to be issued a month from now and I had to select a date shortly. I continued to procrastinate it.

My evening hours were open today — a rarity. I found myself in the indoor training space, an area mostly used by the castle knights. Fortunately, it was empty at the moment and I had taken to some archery practice. 

The double-doors swung open and I lowered the bow before turning to face the intruder. It was only Aldous, who took one look at my streak of bullseyes and grinned. The sun must’ve already gone down. “I’m certain I’m not the first to say you are a skilled archer.”

“I’m just practiced is all.” My ears went hot and I hastily returned the bow to its mount on the wall. The maids would gather the arrows for me on their daily rounds.

“Remind me to never anger you around a bow and arrow,” he joked while nodding to the perfect shots. 

“You could never anger me, Aldous.” I approached my best friend and placed a bony hand on his ivory-gold jacket sleeve, offering him a timid smile. “I’m a patient soul.”

“Indeed you are,” he murmured. When he spoke again, his voice was stronger. “You don’t have to keep your feelings bottled up, though. I know how hard this must be for you. If you need to talk or… or cry, I’m here.” He gently laid his hand over mine. “I want you to trust me.”

“I do trust you.” I pulled my hand away and linked my arm with his instead, leading us towards the exit. Our conversation made my chest seize with anxiety and I was ready for it to be over. “Let’s make some hot cocoa and sit by the fire. I’m cold.”

“As you wish.”

That night, I set my assassination attempt in motion. The plan had been floating in my mind since Aldous explained the sorcerer’s weakened state and I used archery practice to hone my accuracy. The first phase included slipping a sleeping potion into Aldous’ cocoa to ensure he wouldn’t notice my absence. The second phase consisted of me stealing a bow and quiver and sneaking out of the castle.

Phase three was finding the Owl Sorcerer. I predicted he must live in the forest because Aldous still insisted I never stay out past sunset. Assuming his abode was visible from the trails, it wouldn’t be an arduous task to find.

I approached a fork in the main trail: the left one led to Swan Lake, the right one deeper into the forest. I trusted my intuition and swung a right, which guided me to a stone tower overgrown with climbing vines. 

“For Corynne,” I whispered as I pushed open the unlocked wood door. I set down my lantern and closed the door behind me before ascending a steep, spiral stairway. The square, glassless ‘windows’ up the base of the tower shed barely enough light to prevent me from tripping.

The trapdoor at the top was already open and I climbed into the spacious, octagonal room with ease. Moonlight streamed in through a bigger glassless window and candelabras illuminated the area with a magenta glow. It was technically two floors, although the second floor was merely a perimeter allowing access to overflowing bookcases upstairs. On the real floor, there was a tiny kitchen, writing desk, potion workbench, ripped armchairs, mismatched rugs, and an empty bed. 

Figuring I had missed the Owl Sorcerer, I slowly released the tension on my bowstring and unnotched the arrow. I reached behind my braided hair and dropped the arrow into my quiver, surveying the messy residence.

“Come to warm my bed?” 

I nearly lurched out my skin at the deep murmur behind me. When I swung myself around, he was already on me and snatched hold of my bow with one hand. I held onto it with both hands, tugging it towards me and breathing erratically from the effort.

_Slap._

I heard the sound before I felt it. Before the raw, flaring pain splattered across my cheek like a blueberry being crushed beneath a shoe. Before the room whirled around me in a hazy, magenta-lit blur and my body slammed into the floorboards hard enough to forcefully eject every molecule of oxygen from my lungs. 

Footsteps walked away and I heard a fireplace roar to life. The magenta glow inside the tower grew in luminosity and sharp snaps of wood filled the air. I was too stunned to lift my head, but I knew my bow was blazing in cursed fire.

“I must admit, your audacity caught me off guard.” The footsteps trailed back to me. “I didn’t expect you to willingly seek me out, let alone try to _kill_ me. Such a naive little lady, but I admire your spirit.” 

Blood trickled from my nose and into my mouth as I tried to ease air back into my lungs, the metallic tang coating my tongue. The quiver was roughly yanked from off my shoulders as I lay on my stomach, my left hand pressed against my flaming cheek. My arrows clattered onto the floor somewhere nearby. 

“Unfortunately, impressing me doesn’t lighten your punishment.” The sharp point of his black boot impaled my side at an odd angle.

A strangled cry escaped my bloody lips at the gut-wrenching impact, which sent me flying over onto my backside. The fog in my mind was finally starting to clear, but it was still a struggle to breathe and my body was throbbing with pain.

“No,” I croaked weakly and clambered backwards in a desperate effort to put distance between us.

The Owl Sorcerer suddenly swooped down with the grace of a landing bird, using his palms to slam my shoulders into the floor as he settled down on my thighs. His long, bony legs straddled mine, keeping me locked down under his weight. To my dismay, his muscled upper body was bare: strips of white cloth coiled around his torso, keeping a bulky bandage tight against his right side. The dagger wound I inflicted two weeks ago hadn’t healed yet.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered, the tears finally beginning to accumulate in my eyes.

“Already?” He smirked broadly, removing his hands from my shoulders to unsheath a small, curved knife from his belt. It was tiny compared to a normal dagger, but the needle-like point gleamed dangerously. “I haven’t even started your punishment yet.”

I shook my head, unable to vocalize my feelings of confusion, anticipation, and sheer, undiluted terror.

“Blood for blood, sweetheart.” The sorcerer leaned down, his inky locks of unkempt hair tickling my stinging face. “I promised you I would deal with you later at the ball, remember? It’s ‘later.’”

Dread unlike anything I had ever experience permeated the marrow of my bones, gushed through my veins like the deadliest of poisons. My limbs trembled uncontrollably and I whimpered, hot tears soaking my face. Nothing I could say would save me from whatever sick torture this demon from Hell had planned.

“Cat got your tongue? That’s disappointing. I was hoping to hear you beg for mercy.” He readjusted his seat on top of my legs to hold me down more firmly, then his magenta eyes — glowing dimly in the eerie tower — found interest in my breasts.

I let out a sob, sending a collective prayer to every higher power I knew of in hopes one would take pity of me if they existed.

“Don’t move.” The sorcerer’s tone suddenly became serious as his hands moved to the top of my orange-brown dress. He scrunched up the fabric at the top of my breasts and used the knife to tear a hole, which he manipulated to rip my dress open with a single yank of his hands.

“Please,” I cried out.

“Plleeaasse?” He drew out the word, as if waiting for me to continue. His knife sliced my bra in half at the front and push the heaps of fabric to the side, exposing my fair breasts to the chilly air. My nipples hardened almost instantly.

“Please let me go!” Urgency gave my words a shrill edge. I had never been so degraded and exposed in my entire life.

“Who?” He leaned down, his breath ghosting my lips. I closed my eyes to avoid looking into his disgusting, smug face.

“Please let me go… Owl Sorcerer.” 

“Your prince didn’t even bother to tell you my name, did he?” He mused, tapping the tip of the knife against the fragile space between my breasts. 

I flinched at every teasing poke, my restrained body shaking like the stiff tail of a rattlesnake. Squeezing my eyes shut tighter, I shook my head rapidly.

“Audwin,” his name came quietly, darkly, as if it was some scandalous secret.

“Let me go, Audwin, please, I’ll—” My pleads were cut off by a guttural scream that strained my vocal chords and scorched my throat raw. I instinctively writhed under him, ignoring his warning to stay still, and the agonizing pain between my breasts halted at once.

“What did I say earlier? No moving. Unless, of course, you want me to slip and accidentally cut your pretty little throat open?” There it was again, that tone. I heard it at the ceremony just before he departed. Blatant impatience mixed with obvious agitation, like someone on the verge of completely snapping.

“I’m begging you, Audwin—” Once my struggling ceased and my pleading resumed, the excruciating pain resumed as well. 

The back of my head slammed into the floor as my mouth fell open in another blood-curdling scream. Warm liquid swelled in the narrow valley between my breasts and my fingernails clawed at the floorboards, as if trying to dig a way out. I released a bizarre concoction of sobs, pleads, and screams that lacked coherence. At last, the blade left my torn flesh and I could breathe again. 

“Have you learned your lesson, Signy?” Audwin’s voice pierced the heavy silence that followed, stone-cold and void of pride.

I lifted my quaking hands and wiped the tears from my face. Somehow focusing my eyes on the dark-haired man perched on me and not the river of blood seeping down on my abdomen, I nodded slowly.

“Say it.” Harsh, commanding.

“Yes,” came my croak.

“Yes, who?”

“Yes, Audwin.”

He lifted himself off me and retreated into a door off to the side of the mini kitchen. I stayed on the floor, recovering from the slap, the kick, and the… well, I wasn’t certain. When he returned, he dropped something off on his potion workbench and approached my beaten body.

In one swift motion, he picked me up into his arms and carried me over to the workbench. Blood pattered onto the floor until I was gently lowered into a chair. Audwin crouched at my feet and carefully began wiping away the remaining blood left on my chest, his serious face focused on his task. I felt dizzy and nauseous.

“Why not just kill me and take my kingdom by force?” I whispered, the sound of my broken voice foreign to me.

He slowly stood and set the red-soaked cloth into a wooden bowl. Declining to respond, he grabbed a potion bottle that emitted a soft green glow and removed the cork with an easy tug. He put the bottle to my mouth and nudged it against my lips. 

I lifted a hand and took the potion from him, leaning my head back to swallow its contents. To my surprise, it tasted pleasant, like the sweet cream that fills the most delicious pastries. I savored it as a cozy warmth spread out from my stomach, soothing the pain of my wounds until I no longer felt them. The bottle was taken from me.

“It’s a special reminder,” Audwin murmured as his fingertips brushed over the area between my exposed breasts. His hand started to venture to my breast, but abruptly halted and withdrew. “So you don’t forget who owns you.”

I looked down at the spot. A fresh, baby-pink scar occupied the center of my chest, about the length of an ordinary key. Its thick lines were distinctly shaped.

**‘A.’**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading, if you made it this far!!! I promise Audwin will soften up... eventually.


	3. A New Game

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Disturbing dreams prompt Princess Signy to seek comfort from Aldous.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Contains sexual content, mild kink, and (surprise!) graphic violence.

I tossed over to my other side for the billionth time that night, huffing and tugging the thick blanket up to my face to warm my face. Even though we were approaching the end of March, a slight chill still gripped the moonlight hours as if in spite of the warmer daytime temperatures. 

Beyond my bed, Aldous released a heavy sigh in the darkness. “Signy, you _have_ to start getting some sleep.”

“I’m trying…”

“Please allow me to retrieve you a sleeping potion at the very least.”

“No!” I burst out rather impolitely, my anxiety momentarily overtaking my manners. Quickly, I composed myself and repeated softly, “No, thank you.”

“Then please, go to sleep.” 

I hesitantly let my eyes fall shut, which had been burning for the past few hours from sleep deprivation. Ever since my unpleasant…encounter...with Audwin, I had been plagued by nightmares that startled me awake in the middle of the night and left me covered in freezing sweat. Most of them were fuzzy by morning; I could only remember being locked up alone in a dark room without food or water. I would bang my chained fists against a wood door and scream through a tiny hole in its center, but nobody ever came to rescue me. The dreams left me so troubled that I had developed an aversion to sleeping — something that didn’t go unnoticed by Aldous and my family. 

Despite my strength in the internal tug o’ war to maintain consciousness, my body’s innate need for rest ultimately pulled me under.

_I opened my eyes and found myself sitting on my knees against the wall of a spacious, octangular room. The space was cast in a mystical magenta glow emanating from torches lining the stone walls and silent flames dancing in odd flicks and swirls within a fireplace to my left. Only one piece of furniture occupied the room; against the wall directly across from me, a massive bed shined with glossy layers of black silk. It looked to be the size of about six of my beds put together._

_A breathy moan pierced the silence._

_Atop the enormous bed were a dozen naked women baring themselves to an equally disrobed Audwin. His eyes glowed bright magenta and black, feathered wings sprouted out along his arms from his shoulders to his wrists, leaving his hands human aside from thick, claw-like nails. The sorcerer reminded me a fallen angel, with his muscular, marble-like body seemingly sculpted by the gods themselves. Surrounding him, the women were identical to each other in every way: black hair, corpse-white skin, large breasts, black cat ears and matching tails. Silver bells jingled from their collars as they moved around their master, some of them touching themselves, others touching Audwin._

_“Care to join us?” Audwin’s eyes captured mine and his lips curled into an alluring smile. His demeanor was drastically different, wildly awake and blissfully carefree. Instead of radiating danger and ego, he gave off raw sexual power._

_“Fuck,” I whispered, wide-eyed as I observed one of the cat-women latch her mouth onto his erect length. I couldn’t tell if I was terrified or turned on by the orgy, so I neglected to produce a proper response._

_“Fuck!” Audwin repeated me, only his deep voice was ragged with lust. His head dipped back against the headboard and his chest heaved with shaky breathes, his inky-black locks sticking to the sweat on his face. Two women took to kissing his neck, ears, and collarbones while the first one bobbed her head, the wet sounds of her sucking filling the room. Bells jingled all over the bed as if someone were shaking a strap of sleigh bells._

_I became aware of my own body, which resembled the other women. I was naked, but my peachy skin flushed with color and my ‘A’ scar was glowing magenta like Audwin’s eyes and magic fire. The bell on my own collar jingled as I shifted to part my legs, my light blonde tabby tail flicking beside me. An odd, needy sensation between my thighs pulled my hand down and under the mound of my pelvis._

_“Touch yourself,” Audwin commanded breathlessly from the bed, his facial expression dressed in desire. He was tense, his perfect muscles rippling as another woman joined to glorify his body. His angelic black wings spread out at his sides, the sleek feathers flaring mightily. He moaned, more of a guttural growl than anything, and it was the sexiest sound to ever grace my ears._

_My fingers grazed between the slick folds of my virginity and were greeted by warm wetness, arousing a pathetic whimper from my throat. Unable to tear my eyes from Audwin and the hoard of feline women pleasuring him, I searched for the sensitive nub I seldom dared to touch. When the tip of my index finger discovered it, I cried out at the electricity surging up into my belly and bent forward at the waist. The room started to tilt._

_“Signy!” My name was almost a snarl on his lips as the woman worshipping his dick quickened her pace and massaged his balls._

_The glowing scar on my chest suddenly boiled, setting my entire body alight with overwhelming lust that drowned out the pain. My fingers spun tight swirls around my clit and the moans of me, Audwin, and the women synchronized to form an impassioned choir of pleasure. When I climaxed, a tidal wave of euphoria crashed over me and the room whirled—_

I jolted straight up in bed, my eyelids flinging open and my lungs pumping rapid breaths in and out of my trembling body. Desire smoldered between my thighs and I slapped a hand to my mouth, squeezing my eyes shut; warm tears slid down my cheeks and dripped onto my collarbones. Mortification speared my chest. I felt as if I had unknowingly betrayed everyone in my sleep: Aldous, Father, Uncle Arthur, Miss Roslin, my kingdom. What would Mother say if she knew what horrors my mind had conjured up moments ago?

It was a sickening paradox, how my most pleasure-filled dream was also my worst nightmare. The ache between my legs deepened at the taboo of craving the touch of a man I despised most in the world, the devil I would’ve gladly shot through the heart only weeks ago. 

My scar flared with heat under my nightgown.

* * *

Days passed since that night. My core demanded my attention, demanded my fingers to rub and rub and rub as my mind replayed the vivid dream until the passion burst, but I refused. If I relinquished myself to my desire, Audwin would somehow win the whole fucking game. He already cheated me out of my kingdom and I couldn’t bring myself to let him win me too.

“Miss Roslin said you didn’t eat dinner again.” Aldous’ hand appeared at the small of my back as I sat at the grand piano in my hobby room. I had been so consumed by my thoughts and the memorized music flowing from my fingers that I hadn’t heard him enter. “You’ve been… _different_ , lately. Are you feeling unwell?”

My hands froze on the ivory keys. I carefully considered my answer before simply saying, “I seemed to have lost my appetite.”

“I can persuade your uncle to clear out time tomorrow for a visit to the doctor.”

“That won’t be necessary. Thank you anyways, Aldous.” I mindlessly tapped a few notes.

He slid onto the bench beside me, stopping my playing by harshly laying a hand over my fingers. The piano produced a loud concoction of notes at the weight of our hands. “Signy… I… I care about you. A great deal. I want you to talk to me like you used to. When I was Snowy, I mean.”

My mouth went dry and my tongue felt leaden.

“What would you tell me right now if I was Snowy?” Aldous leaned in close, his unkept dark brown hair falling over his eyes. He smelled divine, sweet and perfumed but still deliciously masculine. Under normal circumstances, my stomach would’ve been alive with butterflies. Tonight, it was stuffed with dead moths.

I gazed into his earnest face, reminding myself that he was still my best friend. He had been with me for many years and I was certain he would stay by my side for many more to come if the sorcerer permitted it. This was the same man I had been prepared to marry and happily spend the rest of my life with. I could trust him, maybe more than anyone else in the castle.

Despite this, I couldn’t bear to tell him the full truth. 

“I’ve been having bad dreams,” I admitted, my shoulders shrinking forward. 

“That’s awful.” He frowned, his eyebrows furrowing and his hand squeezing mine. “If it would aid you, I can sleep beside you. You know, on the bed instead of the chair.”

A tiny fire in me flickered, like a candle flame surging back to life after a failed attempt to blow it out. I nodded, smiling timidly and pressing my thighs together a bit. “Okay…”

He returned my smile and after searching my eyes for something, closed the remaining distance between us and my breath was stolen from me as his soft lips pressed against mine. I let my eyes drift shut and gently returned the kiss. As swift as he moved in, he retreated from me and appeared to be closely monitoring my reaction.

“Aldous,” I said rather faintly, shocked by his forwardness.

“I’ve waited so long to do that.” He shook his head with a chuckle, seemingly surprised with himself as well. “I apologize for not asking first.”

I was at a loss for words, but I could feel the shy heat seeping into my cheeks and ears.

He must’ve taken my silent blush for approval because he asked, “Would you, ah, care to continue this in the garden? It’s quite warm out tonight and I think some fresh air might raise your spirits.”

If I were the honest princess I once was, I would politely decline. As much as I ached for the touch of a man, he was not the man I desired and it would be unfair to use him purely for my own release. On the other hand, maybe real-world physical contact with Aldous would overtake my dream-world fantasy with Audwin.

“I would love to,” I lied with a big smile.

Within minutes, I was seated on the stone edge of a substantially large fountain at the garden’s center, just out of sight of the castle guards. Aldous was situated between my spread legs, his clothed pelvis rubbing against mine as we made out feverishly in the darkness. The bottom hem of my emerald dress was pushed all the way up to my hips so his hands could skim over my bare thighs, raising goosebumps despite the balmy spring air. My fingers hovered at the nape of his neck, touching the excess tufts of soft hair that curled down from his scalp.

Above us, the sky rumbled with thunder that was growing steadily in volume as the minutes passed. Lightning flashed sparingly and the breeze carried the scent of rain. I relished the calm before the storm.

“Aldous,” I gasped softly as his fingers took delight in touching one of my breasts through the padding of my dress. “Someone could see!”

“Nobody comes here at this hour,” he murmured into my ear, his lips kissing down the side of my neck. 

I exhaled deeply, my eyes shut so I could focus on enjoying his touches. My body did react positively to Aldous, though it was minimal compared to the high I experienced in that godforsaken dream. I tried to convince myself that this was real, that this was _better_.

A piercing, high-pitched caw made me lurch away Aldous and nearly jump out of my skin. The flapping of wings rapidly came upon me and suddenly I had a face full of black feathers. I screamed, instinctually bringing my arms up to my face as a shield. Razor-sharp claws raked down the backs of my hands and wrists.

I didn’t notice Aldous had stepped back until his sword came down in front of me and sliced the bird out of the air. The two halves smacked sickly against the stone pathway, black blood and clumpy guts gushing out. Thunder rolled ominously overhead.

“It’s him.” Aldous shook his head slowly and I could see the rage on his face even in the dim light. His sword, now lowered, dripped with the bird’s unnatural blood.

“Ah!” I pressed a hand to my chest, where my scar burned like someone had poured alcohol on an open wound. Distantly, I noticed the deep scratches on my hands were weeping thin rivulets of blood.

“Signy?” He was sitting beside and shaking my arm immediately, but I couldn’t really hear him anymore. “Signy! What’s wrong?”

Unprovoked disgust boiled through my veins. I shoved him back and leapt off the fountain, stumbling down the garden path while still holding my chest. For a reason I couldn’t fathom, I couldn’t stand to be around Aldous a millisecond longer than necessary. I couldn’t even look back at him.

“Where are you going?” His voice was gaining desperation. I could hear his boots trailing behind me and the sound of his sword sheathing. “Talk to me!”

I didn’t know the answer to his question, but I realized I had to regain my bearings if I wanted him to stop following me. Lowering my hand and clenching my fists at my side, I whirled on him. “Aldous, if you have any ounce of respect for me, leave me be and go back to the castle!”

“I don’t understand what happened...” Hurt replaced the anger in his expression and somewhere inside me, I was crushed by overwhelming guilt. “Is this about the bird? Because it wasn’t real, it belonged to—”

“Enough!” My usual soft voice cracked with an irrational temper. “As Crown Princess of Corynne, I am ordering you to return to the castle at once.”

Aldous stared at me for a long moment, then nodded and bowed deeply with an arm crossed over his chest. His tone was crestfallen as he murmured quietly, “Of course, Your Highness.”

I watched him turn his back to me and trudge back through the garden. The pain in my scar was fading away and I felt as though I was waking up from a nightmare. Tears swam in my eyes and I called out his name, but my voice was too weak for him to hear over the wind and the thunder. Heavy droplets speckled the stone around me. 

Lightning flashed brilliantly in the dark sky as the sprinkles quickly turned to steady rainfall. I couldn’t face Aldous, so I wandered to the end of the garden, where tidy rose bushes transitioned to crooked pine trees. After trekking blindly into the woods for a rather long period of time, I was completely soaked by the downpour and terrified to realize I was no longer on the trail. Panic seized my heart as I ran around in wide circles, searching for the path. Nothing.

Sobbing, I staggered over to a tree and plopped heavily down at its base, hugging my knees as the frigid rain numbed my skin. The fatigue from my day eventually settled in my bones and I curled onto my side, dragged into a restless slumber atop a muddy bed of pine needles.

* * *

I awoke to the sensation of bobbing up and down. Stirring, I opened my eyes and became aware that I was being carried bridal-style by a pair of sturdy arms. Around me, the forest was almost completely pitch black and only light sprinkles fell from the moonless sky. I couldn’t see the identity of my savior, but I intuitively knew who it was.

Even so, he was warm and I was still shivering from the rain so I nestled into his firm chest, bringing my numb hands up to my mouth to breathe feeling into them. My eyes closed again and I inhaled deeply, savoring the intoxicating tang of mahogany and spice. It was distinctly wild compared to Aldous.

His walk and warmth lulled me back to sleep.

* * *

When I awoke again, I was being placed onto something hard. I found myself seated on the counter of a compact bathroom, leaning against what I presumed to be a mirror. A lantern was placed on the back of the toilet, a regular gold fire dancing within. I found it odd even in my drowsy state of mind.

Audwin crouched down and swiftly unlaced my sopping boots before tugging them off. After removing my socks as well, he gathered the items and tossed them into the round bathtub. I initially took his silence as an indication of a serious mood, but I quickly released my mistake. He was _furious_.

“Turn around,” he demanded gravely.

To the best of my ability, I hauled my legs onto the counter and angled my back more towards him. His fingers immediately went to work unclasping the back of my dress.

“Stand up.” Audwin took a step back.

I ungracefully slid off the counter and swayed a little on semi-numb legs. As I anticipated, he grabbed the hem of my dress and yanked it unceremoniously over my head. I lifted my arms and struggled out of the drenched, heavy fabric, leaving me in only my panties. Not that it mattered — he had already seen my breasts when he decided to carve into my skin.

“Those too.” He pointed at my crotch as he threw the wadded dress into the bathtub with the other garments. 

“I can keep them on,” I argued in defense of my dignity.

“I don’t recall asking for your opinion, bitch.”

I flinched at the insult, bowing my head in humiliation. My wet locks of blonde hair dangled low to my hips as I leaned down to pull off my panties. He snatched them out of my hand without waiting for me to offer them and tossed them with the rest. 

Audwin ripped a black towel off a rack and flung it at me. I caught it, tiredly drying my body before laying it on the counter and looking to him for instruction.

“Can you walk or do I have to carry you again?” His snarky tone lacked any hint of goodwill. 

I wordlessly retreated from the bathroom, entering the open bottom floor of his tower. A normal fire crackled in his fireplace and battled the cool temperature brought on by the thunderstorm. His living space appeared incredibly different in ordinary lighting, more cozy and less eerie. I almost liked it.

“What?” Audwin noticed my captivation as he entered the kitchen and grabbed a kettle. “Already forgot what this place looks like?”

“The fire.” I was beginning to regain strength and my words were steady. “It’s normal.”

He briskly diverted his attention and turned his back to me to fill the kettle with water from the sink. Without so much as glancing at me, he slammed the kettle onto the stovetop with a loud clang and used a match to ignite a fire under the burner.

I decided that if I was staying for the night, his bed would be the warmest place to rest and it was situated relatively close to the fireplace. The sheets weren’t black silk like in my dream, but they were thick and heavy and heavenly under my hypothermic body. I sighed into his pillow, my bones relieved at having a mattress over hard ground. 

Silence enveloped the tower for the subsequent minutes, broken by the kettle whistling. I listened to the sound of water pouring into a glass. More silence. Some time later, footsteps approached the bed.

“Sit up.” His voice was quieter this time, but no less menacing.

I obeyed and propped myself against his wood headboard. A mug releasing tendrils of steam was extended to me by a spindly hand. I hesitantly accepted it, wrapping my fingers around the hot ceramic. Inside, the liquid looked dark. “What is it?”

“Tea.” He sauntered to a tattered armchair next to the fireplace and slumped into it. Although his expression was unreadable, his movements and posture spoke volumes about his exhaustion. He must’ve carried me a long ways.

I felt silly. I had expected some kind of magical concoction and it hadn’t really occurred to me that the sorcerer would brew _tea_ of all things. My ears reddening, I carefully sipped the soothing beverage. It warmed my insides instantly.

Audwin picked up a book off the ground and flipped it open in front of him, his lanky body sinking lower into the chair. I didn’t know the sorcerer, really only met him twice before, but something was off tonight. He seemed genuinely pissed off, not just being dramatic for the sake of showmanship or intimidation.

“I’m sorry.” I knew Aldous was the one who actually deserved the apology, but the hostile silence was getting too uncomfortable for me.

His eyes didn’t venture from the page.

“I don’t love Aldous.” The truth made my heart ache with guilt.

“So what?” Audwin snapped, slamming his book shut. “If I hadn’t intervened, you would’ve let him fuck you right on that damn fountain!”

I was reminded of the bird and looked down at the scabbed claw-marks blemishing my delicate hands. Ashamed, I didn’t know what else to say.

“You are _mine_. Your body belongs to me and I’ll fucking dictate who touches it and when,” he hissed, his words dripping with venom. “I don’t give a _fuck_ if you love him or not — it doesn’t make a difference to me.”

“Go to Hell!” The animosity in my shaky voice caught me by surprise. “I might be more willing to follow your directions if you treated me nicely!” 

He laughed bitterly, standing up. I flinched as he hurled the book onto the floor and prowled close to the bed, his shoulders heaving. “You want to go back outside? You want to freeze to death? By all means! I’ll be sure to never show you an ounce of kindness again if you somehow survive, because you’re just a spoiled, stuck-up slut!”

I launched the mug at him.

Audwin easily dodged and it shattered at his feet. He lunged onto the bed, crawling on top of me and coiling one hand around my slim throat. His clothed chest pressed hard against my bare one and his pale face was mere centimeters from mine, our noses nearly touching. I gasped for air when my body registered there was no more oxygen flowing into it and my hands instinctively flung up to pull at his suffocating grip. My scar suddenly blazed, bringing tears to my eyes.

Every flame in the tower flickered out, leaving us in near-total darkness. 

“Do not test me,” he said, barely a whisper. His magenta irises flared brightly in the shadows. 

I tried to speak, but only a few croaks escaped my crushed throat. Both of my hands yanked with all my strength at his single one, yet it didn’t budge. My legs kicked uselessly at the bed as my lungs burned.

“You can keep Prince Charming around, but I swear… if you touch him again, I will slit his throat in front of you. His body would be a mouthwatering treat for my pets.” Audwin’s tone alone was lethal. “Do you understand?”

I nodded to the best of my ability, my head beginning to spin.

He released his hold just enough for me to sip small breaths, though I was certain I would still wake with bruises on my neck in the morning. “I know you’d despise me if I killed him… but that wouldn’t stop me from taking you.” 

I inhaled sharply when his free hand cupped one of my exposed breasts. When his thumb brushed over my nipple, I let out a weak whimper and squirmed under his body. He pinched it tightly before his fingers moved to trace the ‘A’ scar between my breasts, which no longer pulsed with pain. Now, it just felt hot.

“I’d drag you to our room, throw you on the bed...” His voice was husky, reminding me of my dream. “Rip off your dress, tie your wrists behind your back… ”

I squeezed my eyes shut, wheezing in breaths under his unrelenting grip around my throat. My body practically hummed with ignited lust, lightning striking out from his touch and the needy spot between my thighs.

Audwin’s lips kissed the spot just below my ear, his hand sliding down my abdomen and curving over the mound at my pelvis. “Give you one finger…”

I arched against his body and moaned loudly when one of his fingers slid inside me. My folds were not wet enough to allow for smooth entry and I could feel his fingernail scrape me. Letting out a half-sob, I opened my eyes and gasped, “Audwin!”

“Two…” 

My toes curled and my hips bucked under the weight of him on my legs as a second finger stretched me painfully. Desperately, I tried to slid myself up and down on his fingers, but I was too restrained. I half-moaned, half-sobbed.

“Then I’d fuck you like a whore,” he growled, biting down on my earlobe hard at the same time his fingers began ramming deeply in and out of me.

My scar was so, so hot.

I moaned over and over again, each one shaming me. Was I really a slut, like he said earlier? But the pleasure was too intoxicating to fight — I craved his touch. “Please, Audwin!”

This was beyond messed up. He had nearly strangled me moments ago.

“Please _what?”_ His hand squeezed my throat briefly. 

“Fuck me,” I begged breathlessly.

His fingers ripped out of me instantly and he pressed hard against me, his fast breaths warm against my ear. “Why should I? This is supposed to be a punishment. Bad girls don’t get what they want.”

“I need to cum,” I whined as my thighs trembled under him.

“Beg for me and I might consider it.”

“Please!”

“That’s not what I wanted to hear, Signy.”

“Please let me cum!”

“Hmm, I’m not convinced.”

“Audwin, please let me cum! I need you inside me!”

His breath was shaky as his hand fell from my neck and his face moved to mine, lips hovering painstakingly close to mine. I looked into his glowing eyes, distantly aware of the tears that streaked my face. He touched my lips, seeming to contemplate something. 

“Please,” I whispered.

“No.” Smirking slowly, he leaned back before removing himself from me completely. He let himself collapse on his side, sprawling out to face me and rest his head on his bent arm. 

“What?” My question was barely audible.

“I’ll wait until you’re dying to have me.” His arrogance had returned, his tone laced with ego. “I want to see how far you’ll go to get my cock inside you.”

I realized with horror what I had done.

He sighed after my silence. “I think that’s enough fun for tonight. Try to sleep.”

I had just given Audwin a new game to play.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for making it to the end of the chapter!!


	4. Under the Thorns

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tensions from recent events culminate in a mental breakdown for Princess Signy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for the gruelling wait for this chapter (I had college finals). To make up for it, I birthed out a playlist for this fanfic and posted it as a sequel. There’s 13 songs with sections for Signy, Audwin, and Aldous. It includes lyric previews and a link to a Youtube playlist. Hope you like it if you check it out!!

I yawned, stretching all four limbs out across the bed. When I opened my eyes, I momentarily panicked at the realization I was not in my own bedroom. Rays of sunlight streamed into Audwin’s tower through the single window, the cozy warmth it generated an indication that spring was here to stay. All was quiet and still, aside from birds chirping merrily out in the tall pines.

“Audwin?” I called out, pulling the blanket up to cover my bare breasts. I noticed that the remains of the tea mug from the night before had been swept from the floor, but the tower remained otherwise untouched.

I climbed out of bed, wrapping the blanket around my middle. On the threadbare armchair beside the fireplace, my clothes were folded neatly and thoroughly dry despite being drenched by rain mere hours ago. After scouring the room one last time for Audwin, I let the blanket drop to the wooden floor. I hastily dressed myself and used his small bathroom.

As I washed my hands, I gazed into the fractured mirror. My appearance was not that of a crown princess. Frizzy tangles of light blonde hair framed my tired face and my bloodshot, shadowed eyes stared gloomily back at me. Sickly blue and green bruises wreathed my neck in the rough shape of long fingers. What was I going to tell everyone back home? That I was saved, strangled, and finger-fucked by the sorcerer loathed by all in our kingdom? My heart would fail out of shame.

As I made way for the trapdoor, I noticed a red apple placed on the scant kitchen island. There wasn’t a note for me, but I took it anyways and promptly left that hideous tower.

* * *

“Princess!” A knight chased after me as I strode into the castle later that morning, his silver armor clanking noisily. “Are you injured? There have been search parties looking for you all morning!”

“Call them off,” I waved him away. Winding through the memorized labyrinth of corridors, I approached Father’s study and pushed open the massive double-doors.

“Signy!” Father cried out in despair, his bearded face wet with tears.

“Signy!” Uncle Arthur shouted in fury, his wrinkled face beat-red.

“I’m okay,” I spoke tiredly as I approached the expansive, parchment-piled desk and slumped into a chair in front where Father sat and Uncle stood.

“And where have you been, young lady?” My uncle looked ready to spontaneously combust, his hands shaking. “As future queen of this kingdom, you _cannot_ just run off in the middle of the night! And during a thunderstorm, of all times! Do you understand the kind of chaos your irresponsible actions have subjected this castle to? We had no idea where you’d gone, if you were safe—”

Father interjected, “I implore you to shut your loose mouth for once in your life, brother! Can’t you see my darling daughter is hurt? She is in no need of your cruel lectures!” At the end of his sentence, he broke out into a fit of hoarse coughs and wheezes.

I averted my gaze to the portrait of him and Mother mounted on the wall. His already poor health was on the decline again, perhaps from stress. My vanishing act had certainly done nothing to improve his haggard condition.

“Your neck… did someone hurt you?” Uncle Arthur asked when Father’s episode passed, switching to protective mode. “Was it that damn sorcerer? I don’t care how powerful this bastard supposedly is, if he’s hurting you there will be heavy consequences!”

“It wasn’t him!” I blurted out, my knuckles going white from my death-grip on the arms of the chair. “I... travelled to the village last night... I got some rope caught around my neck… from… the wind.”

A blatant, halfwitted lie.

Nevertheless, Father and Uncle didn’t press me further. After letting me know how relieved they were that I had returned relatively unscathed, they excused me from my daily duties to recover from the traumatizing night I apparently underwent in the village. I took a much needed bath and spent a majority of the daylight hours in my bedroom reading to distract myself from thinking about what actually happened last night. Miss Roslin brought my meals to my bed and continuously refilled my teacup with hot tea, a luxury she reserved for when I was ill.

When night fell and the moon rose in the cloudless sky, the conversation I had been avoiding arrived. I swallowed my cowardice and informed Aldous he could enter the room. The door slowly opened and quietly shut.

I hid my face in a book from where I sat propped against the headboard, reading using the light from my nightstand lantern and the crackling fireplace. Well, fake-reading at this point. I didn’t have the nerve to face my best friend, my previously to-be fiancé, after how I treated him.

“Hey,” Aldous murmured as he gently sat down on the edge of my bed. 

I could already feel tears surfacing in my eyes. What was I going to say to him? I closed the book, but clutched it with both hands as I finally met his eyes.

“Please tell me what’s going on,” he whispered, slowly reaching a hand out to gingerly caress my cheek. To my surprise, there wasn’t a trace of anger in him — only concern. It somehow made me feel even worse.

I let out a restrained sob, my eyes stinging as the tears suddenly rushed forth. Shaking my head, I couldn’t find my words. I wept louder and bent forward at the waist over the book in my lap.

“Shh, it’s okay…” Aldous moved closer and wrapped both arms around me in a firm hug, rubbing my back as I cried into his shoulder. “It’s okay…”

I embraced him tightly, squeezing my eyes shut. My body trembled against him and my breath came in shudders, my whole world breaking down at once. Everything I had been suppressing since that cursed final night of my coming-of-age ceremony came rushing to the surface. I bawled my eyes out, grossly hiccuping and sniveling in a manner that was unbecoming for a woman of royal birth.

“Let it all out,” Aldous encouraged tenderly, his breath at the side of my bruised neck. “It’s going to be alright…”

We stayed like that for a long while as my harsh sobbing gradually reduced to calm sniffling. The front of his ivory-gold jacket was soaked with my tears, which was more than mildly embarrassing. I leaned the side of my face against his shoulder, staring into the bright flames dancing in the fireplace. He kindly gathered my long hair behind me, pulling away the strands that had stuck to my tear-stained face and neck. I realized Audwin would never hold me this way, doubted I would ever feel loved in his arms. It frustrated me how distressed I was over this revelation.

“I shouldn’t have let you go last night,” he admitted. “I should’ve followed you.”

“You only did what I told you to do,” I croaked miserably.

Aldous peeled himself away from me to look at me head-on, his expression hard. “What _you_ told me to do? Or what the Owl Sorcerer told me to do?”

My bottom lip quivered. Hearing someone say it out loud felt like a sword driving through my chest, and also confirmed my suspicions. “How did you figure it out?”

“I may be a literal birdbrain during the day, but I’m not stupid.” Tonight, he lacked his usual princely perfection. His dark hair was disheveled and he smelled faintly of lakewater; he probably came to my room immediately upon transforming back into a human. “You’ve been acting different lately and I’ve suspected the sorcerer may have been involved, but last night… that wasn’t you, Signy. I’m so sorry I abandoned you — it’s because of my own cowardice that he hurt you.”

I felt my heart crack a little. “Aldous, it’s not your fault. I should’ve told you, but I didn’t realize…” I released a shaky breath. “I guess I didn’t realize how much he was influencing me. When this… I don’t know, this _connection_ happens, I can’t distinguish my emotions from his. It’s like we’re the same person.”

“How long has this been going on for?” His eyebrows furrowed and his lips pressed into a stiff line.

I stared at him for a long moment, chewing on my bottom lip. Then, reluctantly, I carefully pulled down the front of my nightgown just enough for my ‘A’ scar to peek out. It had completely healed, now composed of thick, white lines.

“Great gods,” Aldous cursed, reaching a hand out to brush his thumb over the raised skin between my semi-covered breasts. He looked disgusted. “Did he do this with a knife?”

I couldn’t produce an answer. I blinked back resurfaced tears before releasing my nightgown to hide the scar again. Bowing my head, I turned away from him.

“When did this happen?” 

“Last month,” I said quietly, picking aimlessly at my bed comforter.

“That’s why you held your chest yesterday in the garden. It causes you pain.”

I swallowed thickly.

“This is serious spellwork. If I had known earlier, killing him would’ve been no trouble. I’m guessing he was left almost entirely drained of energy.” Frustration weighed in Aldous’ words. 

I thought about the appearance of the tower last night. The fireplace, lanterns, and candles all burned with regular flames rather than his usual magenta fire. He had even used a match to light the stove instead of casting what I assumed was a simple ignition spell. If Aldous’ theory was right, Audwin was still incredibly weak. This was an opportune time to get rid of him, one we likely wouldn’t get again, so why was I having trouble getting the words out of my mouth? Was it because I was being controlled? Or was it because I actually... 

“Signy?”

I looked up at Aldous, my train of thought abruptly halted.

“Are you…” He trailed off and shook his head. “Stupid question. Of course you’re not okay. None of this is okay. You have no idea how much it infuriates me that I can’t protect you, not from him. If I could find a way—”

“You’re no good to me dead,” I interrupted softly.

He stared at me for a long moment before his pained expression gave way to a tired smile. “Maybe. But I’m fucked either way, right?” 

My eyes widened in shock. I had never heard him use that word.

“If I let you marry him, I’m cursed to spend my days alone as a swan until I’m shot by a hunter for my feathers. If I die defending you, then at least I have a chance at taking him down with me. I’m fucked either way.” Aldous’ voice wavered and although his face gave the illusion of calm, I could tell he was on the verge of cracking.

“I was thinking… when I marry Audwin,” the words tasted sour on my tongue, “I’ll try to convince him to lift your curse.”

“He won’t.”

“How do you know that? I haven’t even tried—”

“Because he just won’t, Signy!” Aldous snapped sharply, his voice louder and deeper than usual. Just as quickly as he lost control, he regained it. His body relaxing again, he gently grabbed my hand and squeezed it lightly. “There are things you don’t understand.”

“Help me understand.”

“I can’t.”

“Can’t… or won’t?”

He leaned forward and kissed me softly on the cheek, then left the bed to douse the fireplace with a water bucket. “I think it’s time you got some rest.”

I stayed still for a moment before blowing out my lantern and burrowing myself into my blankets. Aldous assumed his post in the corner chair and didn’t say anything more. I sulked, feeling worse than before. _I should’ve stayed with Audwin today._

_Signy?_

“What is it?” I mumbled.

“What?” Aldous said from his chair, sounding confused.

“Didn’t you say my name just now?” 

“I’m afraid not.”

“Oh… I must’ve imagined it.”

“Sometimes the dark plays tricks on us when we’re tired.”

But I could’ve sworn I heard a voice identical to Aldous say my name. I whispered a “goodnight” to my friend and curled up on my side.

_I opened my eyes into a room of mirrors._

_All four walls were lined with seamless mirrors and the floor was a checkerboard of black and white marble tile. In front of me, Audwin sat naked on a monumental throne carved out of solid black marble crackled with white veins. His eyes were glowing magenta and I recognized the black, feathered wings attached along the lengths of his arms from his shoulders to his wrists. Four women composed entirely of swirling gray smoke lounged around his throne, their spectral hands groping at his legs and thighs. Unlike the cat-women before, they had no features, no voices, just smoky silhouettes._

_I was dreaming again. This wasn’t real._

_A silver chain hung down from my collared neck from where I was kneeling and trailed up to the base of the black throne, where the end disappeared into the marble. I noticed my thighs were covered in random scraps of black lace, fishnet, and satin all sewn together to make a frankenstein fabric. In fact, it was stretched taut all over my body, from my neck to my wrists to my ankles. Everywhere except for my breasts and the precious area between my thighs. How convenient for him._

_My scar glowed vibrantly like his eyes._

_“What a lovely surprise,” Audwin purred from his throne. Around him, the four phantom women suddenly burst and the clouds of gray smoke dissipated into nothing. “Here to tease me some more?”_

_“I thought I was the one always being teased,” I retorted snarkily._

_His hand shot down and whipped up my chain, yanking it forward. I was flung out onto my stomach, my chin slamming down against the marble tile as my arms splayed out in front of me in a failed attempt to break the fall. My throat throbbed painfully where my metal collar choked it. I gasped, the dream blurring for a moment before stabilizing again._

_“You’re here to pleasure me, not aggravate me.” He gave the chain a warning tug before letting it drop noisily to the floor. An apathetic expression masking his face, he leaned an arm on his throne and rest the side of his face on his hand as if he were bored._

_If I hadn’t known this was a dream, his mannerisms would’ve passed for the real Audwin._

_“And how, precisely, would you like me to pleasure you?” I decided to feed into his whims, since this was merely fantasy and I might gain some enjoyment out of it._

_“Mm… you can start by lying on your back facing the wall in front of me.”_

_My chain rattling against the checkered marble, I shifted onto my back and scooted into position so my legs were pointed towards the mirror across from the throne. I rolled my head to the side to peek around my body, catching sight of myself in the reflection. My hair was black instead of blonde and tied into a messy bun atop my head by a white scrunchie._

_“Good girl, now spread your legs.”_

_How had I not seen this coming? I parted my legs only shoulder-width apart, not out of reluctance but purely out of spite._

_“I rescind what I said,” Audwin hissed as he wrenched my chain towards him, pulling my body backwards across the tile by my neck. “But I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt. Maybe you didn’t hear me the first time. Spread your fucking legs.”_

_I spread them as wide as I could with my knees bending up, exposing myself. In the mirror, I could see him staring at my reflection from his throne and his arousement rising… literally. I shuddered at the sight of it, squirming a bit out of needy discomfort and anticipation. Gods, I was shameful. Back in reality, Aldous was sharing the room with my sleeping body, oblivious to what I was dreaming about._

_“Touch yourself.”_

_Unable to watch myself, I closed my eyes as I reached a hand down and pressed two fingers to my clit. My breathing quickened at the slow rubbing initiated, my body practically buzzing with delight. A tiny moan escaped my lips and I tilted my head back._

_“Faster than that, Signy. You’re not a granny.”_

_I obeyed. In little time, my back was gradually arching off the floor and the climax building between my legs was ready to tip over the edge. I rubbed as fast as my hand could manage, my moans filling the room and echoing all around me. Almost there!_

_“Stop.”_

_Stop? Stop? I couldn’t stop now!_

_“Stop touching yourself.”_

_I let out a high moan as I hit the bullseye and—_

_And my chain dragged me across the floor. I flailed both arms as my body continued to slide across the tile, nearly strangling me in the process. I opened my eyes and cried out in pain, disappointment, and outrage. When I reached the throne, my chain pulled me up onto my knees and a hand gripping my hair bun spun me around to face Audwin. I grasped his knees to keep myself from falling down at his feet and found myself faced with his erect cock._

_Audwin snatched hold of my chin and tilted my face up to look into his glowing magenta eyes. “You don’t follow directions very well, do you? Let’s see if you can follow this: suck me off.”_

_“I can, but who’s to say I won’t accidentally bite it?” I smirked._

_“Feel free. I’m not afraid of a little pain.” With the shrug of his shoulders, he let go of my chin and leaned back into his black marble throne. When I didn’t move, he waved his hand expectantly with raised eyebrows. “Well? I’m waiting.”_

_I pushed his knees apart and lunged partway into his lap, grabbing the base of his length before taking the head into my mouth. My chain rattled as I sucked the tip, tenderly massaging the base while occasionally glancing up at him. He maintained his poker face thus far, blankly observing me with those frightening irises of his. I took more of his dick into my mouth and began the bobbing motion, in and out and in and out._

_“Fuck,” he cursed finally, a breathy moan sneaking out of him._

_Even though this wasn’t real, I somehow felt satisfaction swelling in my chest at being able to pleasure him. Sure, real Audwin gained pleasure from making my life a living hell, but sexual pleasure was a different story. My excitement prompted me to put more effort into it and I sucked fervently, taking him as deep as I could into my mouth. Between my bared breasts, my scar blistered with a painless heat that made my wet core throb with want._

_Above me, Audwin was groaning deeply and his hands were clutching the sides of his throne with white knuckles. I briefly admired his gorgeous body before taking care to bring him to a climax. When he reached his peak, he came down my throat and I managed to choke it down without gagging. I pulled my mouth off his cock._

_Moments passed. He didn’t do anything more, just relaxed against his throne as he recovered and regained a steady pace of breathing. I tilted my head to the side, my hands resting on his thighs._

_“You’re still here,” he stated plainly._

_“Well, excuse me then!” I retaliated, pushing off him and sitting on the floor with my chain coiled around me in a circle. “This is my dream, after all.”_

_“What?” His voice came as a whisper._

_“You’re just as bad as the real Audwin!” I turned away from him, even though I couldn’t escape him with his reflection being in the surrounding mirrors. My emotions from my evening with Aldous came rushing to the surface. “You treat me like some object, like you own me. And you may not like Aldous, but at least he treats me like a human being!”_

_This Audwin said nothing._

_“I wouldn’t be so fucking upset over this godforsaken marriage if I felt like my fiancé actually gave a damn about me. Me, as in Signy, not as some stupid prize. You look at me and you see a body to use and abuse as you please, nothing more.” I almost ended my outburst because the dream was beginning to fade, but I was able to squeeze in one more jab before the room disappeared. “I hope Aldous kills you.”_

* * *

Over two weeks passed.

Aldous kept a polite distance from me, close enough to be a shoulder to lean on but far enough to give me some much needed space to breathe. We were into the later half April now and the wedding was set for the third week of June, so the planning stages were nearing their end. Actual preparations would go underway next month, when special-ordered decorations were set to be delivered.

In the meantime, I spent much of my days studying in the castle library and overseeing the increasing number of responsibilities Uncle Arthur passed from Father to me. My days off were few and far between. Given how exhausted I was, I was relieved not to have suffered any more encounters with Audwin — real or imagined. After my neck bruises healed, it was almost easy to forget he existed.

“Signy, you look tired.” Uncle approached my table in the library, leaning his knuckles on the polished wood. “Why don’t you take the rest of the day off? I’ll finish up the paperwork left in your father’s study.”

“Really? But it’s barely after lunch.” I fidgeted with the frayed end of the bookmark ribbon.

“You’ve been working hard lately. You deserve the break.”

“Thank you, Uncle.” I stood up with a lazy smile and began gathering my books, but his hand came down on the pile.

“Leave them. The maids will take care of it. Go relax.”

I nodded and hurried off to my bedroom. Although Uncle didn’t speak of it, I knew his true intentions for letting me off the hook, and it was the same reason Father hadn’t attended breakfast or lunch. Today was a special date, albeit not a happy one. I changed into a white commoner’s dress embroidered with pink roses, since those had been Mother’s favorite flower, and grabbed a small purse made of gray rabbit fur after tugging on brown sandals.

As I headed back out of my room, however, a flash of black caught my eye in my haven of pastels. I stopped in my tracks and turned towards my open window, where a rectangular box was resting on the wide sill. Unsure of what to think of it, I walked up to the window to examine it closer. The shallow box was covered in black velvet and the cursive words “to the girl who outshines the sun” glimmered on the top in metallic gold lettering. I had never seen a gift packaged so elegantly and pristinely. And the inscription...

“Audwin,” I murmured, running my fingertips over the crushed velvet. 

I lifted the lid off the box. A canvas was seated on layers of sheer black tulle and I carefully picked it up by the sides to stare at it in wonder. It was a painting of me at the ball, the first night I met Audwin. I was wearing my favorite gown in all of its lavender, flowery glory and I was holding the sides of the flared skirt in my hands mid-twirl, a beaming smile on my face. The background was painted in shades of grey so only my portrait stood out in vibrant color.

On top of the acrylic brushstrokes, there were extras added on. Flattened gold foil made my hair appear as if it were liquid gold falling around me, and real diamonds dazzled atop my painted jewelry. Miniature, faux flowers had been stuck to my dress, following the same gradient of lavender to pastel pink. Iridescent glitter gave my entire outfit a fairytale sparkle. It was absolutely beautiful craftsmanship and artistry, regardless if it was aided by magic. I appeared positively radiant.

“Oh, Audwin,” I repeated, setting the canvas back in the box of tulle to fan the tears in my eyes with my hands. If it was his goal to tamper with my emotions, he had succeeded tenfold.

I thought back to my dream, where I had went off on what I had originally thought to be a figment of my imagination. ‘Audwin’ had seemed shocked into silence at my words. Was there a chance I had shared the dream with the real Audwin? If I could feel his emotions during waking hours through my scar, was it so crazy to suggest we were aware of each other while asleep too? And my scar had been glowing in both dreams, come to think of it. 

Shaking my head, I slammed the lid back on the box and shoved it into my closet. I wasn’t going to spend my day off torturing myself over impossible theories, and I had somewhere to go anyways. 

A couple hours later, I made it into the kingdom’s main village on foot. I could’ve taken a carriage, but I technically wasn’t allowed out of the castle at the moment and I needed the fresh air. I purchased a bouquet of pink roses from a nice florist before entering the cemetery. At the back of the graveyard, I approached my bloodline’s section marked by the massive gray statue of a seated lion with a kingly crown on its head. Kingdoms around us had private mausoleums for the royal family to prevent tomb raiding, but my great-grandfather wanted the commoners to be able to visit us after we passed and our coffins weren’t filled with treasures like others.

“Happy birthday, Mother.” I laid the bouquet on her grave. “I hope you indulge in an extra glass of wine today with the gods.”

I had planned to leave right away to avoid being sighted, but my feet remained planted in the grass. Rubbing my arm sheepishly, I hung my head and focused on not crying. Mother wouldn’t want to see me cry — it wasn’t ladylike.

“Father isn’t doing well these days. I fear he will be joining you soon, but I rest easier knowing you’ll be there to greet his spirit with open arms. He’ll be so happy to see you again. He misses you so much. I miss you too. I love Miss Roslin, but she’s not you. Nobody can ever replace you, Mother.”

I shuffled my feet, lifting a hand to sweep away an escaped tear. I anxiously glanced around the cemetery for any prying eyes or nosy ears. It was empty.

“I wish you were here now. You would know what to do.” I continued my monologue, staring down at her name engraved on the headstone. “I met these two young men and everything since then has been a disaster. Aldous is my best friend and I thought I was ready to marry him. I thought I loved him. But I don’t. To be honest, I don’t even know what love is. I was foolish to think I did.”

A warm breeze swept through the village and rustled the trees.

“Now I’m engaged to another man, Audwin. I thought because he was a dark sorcerer, it meant he wasn’t human. I was foolish to think that too. He has feelings just like everyone else, but to hell if I know what they are half the time. I haven’t the slightest clue what to make of him. I can’t see what’s under the thorns.”

I sighed, closing my eyes momentarily before opening them again. When I turned to leave, I jumped in fright at the unexpected sight of a gray-cloaked figure standing close by me. I hadn’t heard anyone walk up! 

The figure advanced towards me and when they reached my side, I recognized the grim face under the hood. Audwin extended a hand upright in front of him and a sphere of magenta light spun in his palm. When the light faded, a crystalline rose without a stem had materialized and he placed it on the grave next to my bouquet. We stood there together for a handful of minutes, absorbed in heavy silence as the persistent breeze shook leaves around us. It was somber, quiet, peaceful.

Eventually, his deep, smooth voice met my ears. “Are you ready to go home?”

I nodded without lifting my face to look at him. 

He gently grabbed hold of my hand and calmly led me back to the entrance of the cemetery. We walked together, hand in hand, through the village and nobody knew who we were. In this moment, we were just a couple taking a walk — no titles to uphold, no curses to fret over, no arguments to be won, no preparations to be made. Instead of sorcerer and princess, we were Audwin and Signy.

We continued our walk down the side of the dirt road winding along the forest border, heading back towards the castle. No words were spoken, but none were needed. By the time the grand castle came into view, it was late evening and the sun was nearing its departure into the horizon.

Audwin let go of my hand and to my shock, leaned his head down to press a soft kiss to my forehead. “Your mother would be proud of you if she was still here.”

I found myself at a loss, so I just nodded meekly.

“Goodbye, Signy.” Audwin turned on his heel and began walking away.

I raced forward and grabbed his cloak. “Wait!”

He stopped and turned back to me. His face was still uncharacteristically serious. Was he ill? Where was his ego? Why was he acting so normal?

“This isn’t…” _This isn’t goodbye forever, right?_

“Goodbye for now.” A smile twitched at the corners of his lips. He had read my thoughts, impossibly. “I thought you’d be rejoicing to get a break from me.”

I bristled, letting go of his cloak to shove his chest roughly with both hands. “Asshole! After all you’ve put me through, you are not disappearing on me!”

“I’m not going anywhere.” He didn’t take so much as a step back at my pathetic strength. “Besides, I have a wedding coming up. You already opened your engagement gift, I assume.”

I crossed my arms over my chest. “I did.”

“Ah.” Audwin didn’t look amused by my lack of gratitude.

“And it was very beautiful.” I scowled. “Who would’ve expected you had artistic talent?”

He smirked. “There’s a lot of things you wouldn’t expect of me. I’m quite the catch.”

There it was, that ego of his.

“If you were such a catch, you wouldn’t need a spell to make me like you.” I rolled my eyes, taking a few steps backwards.

“There isn’t a spell.”

“Don’t lie to me, Audwin. I know about the scar.”

“I’m not lying.” He shrugged, pulling the hood of his cloak down to run his fingers through his messy black hair. “I accidentally infused some magic in with your blood when I punished you that night, so what?”

“ _So what?_ I can barely tell my emotions apart from yours sometimes and you’re in my head, awake and asleep!” I felt humiliated even bringing up the dreams.

“I can feel yours too so I would love it if you could calm down.”

I put my hands on my hips. “What is this? Tell me the truth.”

“Fine, if you must know. Magic is powered by desire and energy, both of which I had that night. I was powered up, and I wanted to own you. So when I drew your blood, I unknowingly created a bond between us that gave me just that: ownership.”

My arms fell to my sides. I walked unsteadily back, turning my head to look anywhere except at Audwin. Ownership. I was raised told I was destined to be a queen, that nobody could control me. They were wrong.

“The truth hurts sometimes. Think about that next time you get mad at Prince Charming for keeping secrets.” 

The breeze tousled my hair as I stood there and the back of Audwin’s gray cloak disappeared into the treeline. I crouched down to the grass, burying my face in my hands.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading!! Updates should be more frequent now that my semester is over. Take a peek at the playlist if you’re interested ^_^ hope you are enjoying the holiday season!!


	5. All Alone

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stricken with grief, Princess Signy flees from home to escape her responsibilities.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warning for violence, threats, depression, and mentions of suicide. Strap yourselves in.

Audwin stayed true to his word on keeping his distance. I hadn’t experienced a single dream, scar twinge, gift, visit, or anything whatsoever to suggest he was even around. Life went on without the presence I had become accustomed to and I came to discover the accuracy of the saying that absence makes the heart grow fonder. Days turned into weeks, weeks turned into a month; now the wedding was little over a month away, and Audwin had fallen off the face of the earth.

A part of me ached to think that my fiancé may have lost interest in me and the fear of rejection kept me from visiting his tower myself. I should be rejoicing, like Audwin had teased me the last day I saw him, shouldn’t I?

On top of this, I hadn’t missed that Uncle Arthur had practically adopted Aldous into the royal family. Father’s waning health meant he was bedridden most days and I couldn’t yet overtake all of his duties, so Uncle Arthur began passing them onto Aldous to perform in the late evening hours after he regained human form. Uncle’s attention was completely absorbed with the swan prince, who was diving headfirst into all this new work and barely made time to visit my bedroom most nights. The infection of loneliness and heartache within me only festered. 

“Good morning, Your Highness,” a maid greeted me with a weak attempt at a smile as I entered the formal dining hall. It was Allora, a young lady about my age pure of heart and mind. 

She rushed to pull out my chair out, which was one of the two closest to the head chair — Father’s chair. Empty, as his was nearly every morning these days. Across the banquet table, the other head chair was empty as well. How odd; Uncle Arthur was usually already halfway done with his breakfast by the time I sat down. Miss Roslin’s chair was vacant too. In fact, I was the only one at the table! Surely I wasn’t late?

“Where is everyone?” I asked Allora as I slid into my chair and she served me a gold plate loaded with buttered bread, tangerine slices, cashews, and grilled fish. A typical, balanced castle breakfast.

“Er… with the king.” She avoided meeting my eyes as she filled my chalice with fresh milk. 

“With my father?” I furrowed my eyebrows and picked up my toast to take a bite with a _crunch_ that resonated through the desolate dining hall.

“Please enjoy your breakfast, princess.” Allora gently laid a thin hand on my shoulder before hauling the serving tray back to the kitchens.

I didn’t enjoy it. None of the nobility came to join me at the table, and I had a haunting suspicion as to what was occupying their time. I picked my plate clean only to avoid confronting the moment I had been dreading since Father had fallen ill. When Allora came to collect my empty plate and chalice, I stopped her with a touch to her elbow.

“Yes?” She paused and anxiously bit her bottom lip.

“Is he just worse or is he already…” I couldn’t bear to finish my question.

The maid clutched my plate tighter, her vivid green eyes darting down. “The Chief Minister ordered me not to say anything.” 

“It’s okay, you can tell me.” I nodded to her in encouragement, my vision already swimming in tears. I hated that they still treated me like a little girl and not the woman set to become their queen next month.

“The king passed away in his sleep last night.” Allora bowed her head respectfully. “I am so sorry for your loss.”

Everything after that was a blur.

I remember the first wave of tears, ripping my heels off so I could sprint up to my father’s bedroom without hindrance, seeing the room filled with nobility crowding his bed like he was some spectacle. My cries of despair barely reached my own ears and I didn’t have control of the hands that shoved Uncle Arthur backwards when he reprimanded me for being improper. The room emptied when my knees hit the floor and I wailed over my father’s dead body. My last parent. 

After some time, Miss Roslin guided me to my bedroom and helped me into a plain, all-black dress instead of my usual exquisite, brightly-colored dresses. She attached a black veil to my tiara, which I resisted ripping off and tossing out of the window. I think she tried comforting me, but I was too distraught for her soft words and angrily ordered her out of my private quarters. When she reluctantly left, I threw a tantrum that would’ve scared the mightiest warrior. The riches reminded me of my parents and the wealth they had bestowed upon me — luxuries I would now have to enjoy with only the company of a ruthless new king.

I smashed jewelry boxes, ripped pages from my books, emptied feather pillows, threw shoes at lamps, dumped letters into the fireplace, pulled the curtains from the window, tore paintings off the walls, and so on until my bedroom looked as if a hurricane had whipped through it. When my cataclysmic fingers snatched up a certain canvas shelved in my closet, I stopped my rampage. I wept miserably as I stared at the breathtaking, glittering painting of myself, my bottom lip quivering. Where was Audwin? 

“Fuck!” My voice cracked through my tears and I let the canvas fall on the floor before storming out of the closet to kick more stuff around.

Once I had fully sapped my muscles of energy, I retreated to the corner of my bedroom and slid down to the carpet. Hugging my knees, I sobbed until I dozed off in a ball on the floor. When Miss Roslin woke me up to ask me to attend dinner, the sun was already below the horizon. I rejected initially, but she informed me that my uncle had important matters to discuss over the meal and I didn’t have much choice.

“You may sit at the head of the table,” Uncle Arthur said from his place at the other head seat as I sauntered into the dining hall. He was dressed in an all-black uniform decorated with shiny pins and prestigious badges.

I said nothing, taking my usual seat. The other nobles had already begun eating, talking quietly amongst themselves. Allora appeared at my side and lifted the cover off my soup, which was split pea and ham with a side of sourdough slices. One of my favorite suppers — not by coincidence, I’m sure. She poured me red wine.

“Tomorrow’s schedule has been cleared to allow for funeral preparations, which will commence three days from now.” Uncle sipped his wine and spoke firmly, but he had always held it together better than anyone in our family. 

My spoon clattered against the side of my bowl. “Preparations, huh? You want me to pick a casket for Father? Flowers? Candles? Delicacies? I’m not ready to plan a fucking party for people to cry fake tears and gossip about me over aged wine.”

“Watch your mouth, young lady.” He slammed his glass down on the table, rattling the spare silverware and other glasses. “It is expected that you take part in the funeral of your predecessor.”

I slammed my hand flat on the table, rattling everything once more. “I refuse!”

“What has gotten into you, Signy? You seem to have forgotten your manners ever since that treacherous sorcerer appeared. This foolish behavior is unacceptable for a woman of royal birth. You are a disgrace to your father’s name.”

“Arthur—” Miss Roslin extended a hand towards my uncle, giving him a stern expression of disapproval.

“How _dare_ you?” I stood up in a fury, seizing my glass and stomping over to the other end of the table. Impulsively, I splashed the red wine into his face. “I’m your queen, not your child! I advise you not to forget _your_ manners, Minister!”

The dining hall fell silent, the nobles and servants staring at me in shock. Uncle looked downright taken aback, wine dripping all down his wrinkled face. I wiped away the tears falling down my own face, dropping the glass and letting it shatter on the golden tile. Despite the growls of complaint from my stomach, I left my food behind and ran back up the grand staircase to my room.

Surprise, surprise: Aldous wasn’t waiting for me there, even though he should’ve shifted back by now. Mother was dead, Father was dead, Uncle was volatile, Miss Roslin was grieving, Aldous was distant, and Audwin was missing. 

I was all alone.

Dizzily, I dragged my feet over to my window and peered out at the trees illuminated by moonlight. I thought about going to the tower, but why? Audwin more than likely already knew about the late king, either through my scar or through his spies, and yet I had received nothing from his end. He just didn’t care. In fact, this was one less problem he would have to deal with when he ascended the throne. If he felt anything at all, it was probably relief.

This was too much. Too much. Too much! I could barely breathe! Entering my closet, I grabbed a hiking backpack I would use for day trips to Swan Lake and stuffed it with clothes, undergarments, and toiletries. I only bothered to change my heels to boots and tie my blonde tresses into a messy ponytail before slinging the bag on my shoulders. Opening my window, I crawled onto the rooftop of the two-story castle and carefully navigated my way under the light of the moon.

I reached for a sturdy branch of one of the trees planted along the perimeter of the castle, swinging myself into the tangle of limbs. Once I climbed to the ground, I avoided the patrols and made a beeline for the knight stables. I stole a canteen from the buckets of miscellaneous supplies and prepared a horse for travel. 

“I’m sorry, Father,” I whispered under my shaky breath.

* * *

I sat on the edge of a wooden dock, dangling my legs off the edge and skimming my feet along the top of the cool water. The early-summer sun beat down on me and the rippling lake reflected the fluffy white clouds dotting the bright sky like tufts of cotton. A light, pleasant breeze tousled my hair and the surrounding lush, green forestry. The sounds of nature were as soothing as a lullaby.

Behind me, a magnificent pale blue house stood in all of its faded, abandoned glory. It belonged to my mother’s side of wealthy nobles and was situated in wooded, mountainous territory that overlapped between our kingdom and a neighboring one, where she hailed from. She used to bring me here when I was a youth and taught me how to survive off the land, something my father and uncle deemed unfit for a princess. Although Mother encouraged manners as every lady of high standing did, she also encouraged self-sufficiency. I never thought I would need to cast a fishing pole, harvest fruit, and boil water for myself.

There was nobody alive besides me who knew of this place. It was the perfect hideout until I was ready to return home and face reality. Home? Was it even a home without my parents? Without anyone who sincerely, unconditionally cared for me?

 _Signy,_ Audwin’s voice pierced my mind and my scar burned. Although my name was spoken calmly, I could sense the chaotic storm brewing underneath.

I ignored him, playing with the hem of my mother’s light yellow sundress. I may have raided her wardrobe when I arrived this morning after riding all night.

_Tell me where you are._

I snorted and kicked the water. Now he suddenly cares again?

_This isn’t a game._

A rich statement coming from a man who treated everything as a game.

_Do you think your father would’ve wanted this for you?_

White-hot anger pulsed through my veins, and I concentrated on it splashing into Audwin through the scar like a tsunami of poison along with two simple words: _fuck off._

 _Is that so? When I find you — and I will find you — you’re going to have worse things to cry over._ At his telepathic threat, my scar blistered with excruciating pain. 

I let out a sharp cry, bending forward and putting a hand to my chest. When the torture didn’t end, I clawed the front of my dress down and strained my neck to peek at the scar. The lines composing the ‘A’ were red and swollen, almost like the wound was fresh again, and the blue-green veins surrounding it were raised. 

_Audwin!_ I screamed.

The pain suddenly stopped. I slumped forward, falling off the edge of the deck and plunging into the watery depths. I instinctually moved to start swimming, but paused and gradually let my limbs go limp as my body sank deeper. How easy it would be to let myself sink to the bottom of the lake, sink and sink until I breathed the pure air of another world where my parents were alive again and my worries couldn’t reach me anymore. I opened my eyes and peered up at the pretty sky through the rippling surface. The cold surrounded me and the darkness was creeping in, cutting me off from the warmth and the light and everything that still mattered.

_If you drown, I’ll still find you. There is no escaping me. I don’t care if I have to crawl on my hands and knees through the fires of hell to get to you. You belong to me. Did you really think something like death could steal you from me? Think again._

I clenched my teeth at Audwin’s cruel words. This bastard was going to be the end of me. My lungs burning for a sip of air, I pumped my arms as hard as I could manage and thrashed my legs wildly until I was propelling back up towards the expansive sky. When I finally broke the surface of the lake again, my vision was blurry and my head was spinning dizzily. I heaved in massive breaths, focusing on staying afloat. Gods, the water was freezing despite the hot afternoon.

For the remainder of the day, I was spared of Audwin’s mental intrusions. I retreated indoors and buried myself in the dusty quilts of Mother’s bed with a pile of well-loved books. When my bodily needs became too nagging, I used the last of the daylight to prepare more water and a meager meal of fish. I fell asleep on a cracked leather sofa in the living area of the old house with the fireplace burning for white noise and homely comfort instead of heat.

* * *

In the later morning hours of the third day, Audwin found me.

I was sunbathing on the pebbled shore of the lake atop a blanket, sprawled out in a sheer white dress that showed my undergarments underneath. My damp hair was woven into a loose side braid that trailed down to my hip. I drifted along somewhere in la-la-land under the heat of the sunshine.

My quiet bubble of tranquility was rudely popped at the distinctive hoot of an owl nearby. I draped an arm over my eyes, turning my head to the side in an effort to pretend I was asleep or dead. At first, I assumed it was one of his pets and didn’t think much of it. The hoots and wings flapping came close, followed by the sound of something hard scattering rocks. 

“BITCH!”

My heart nearly flung out of from my ribcage at the enraged roar, but I remained still aside from the earthquake of surprise that shook me head to toe. 

“Do you have any idea—” a pair of hands roughly grabbed me under the armpits and yanked me straight into the air, “—what I’ve been through?”

I dangled from his grip like a ragdoll, opening my eyes to glare at the black-haired sorcerer standing before me. “What _you’ve_ been through? What about me? What about the shit I’ve been through?”

Audwin’s magenta eyes gleamed dangerously. “Don’t act like you weren’t expecting it. The king was on his last legs for a while—”

“Shut up! I’m talking about you!” My right arm came flying around like an arrow and the back of my hand collided across his furious face with a sharp _smack_ at the same time my left leg hurled into his pelvis. 

He didn’t cry out, but he did drop me to stagger back. I wasn’t sure if he was shocked more from the pain or from my audacity to hit him. Either way, I seized the opportunity and sprinted for the lakehouse like a bat out of hell.

 ** _“Signy!”_** The bellow was both in my ears and in my head.

My legs burned, but I managed to make it to the door and slam it shut behind me before he could follow suit. I locked it and leaned against the splintered wood, breathing heavily from the race uphill. 

Vigorous flapping came from the chimney and a large black owl came flying into the house from the unlit fireplace. Before the owl fully descended, it shifted into Audwin and he leapt gracefully down to the floorboards. I cringed against the door, not quite sure what he was going to do with me. 

He was only partly dressed in his usual attire. This time, he kept his half-cape of black feathers and black pants, although a black button-up shirt now hung from his middle. The buttons were completely undone, leaving his lean, muscular abdomen exposed. His hair was a chaotic mess instead of its usual slickness, and there were dark shadows under his mystical eyes that I hadn’t noticed outside. At his belt, a dagger was sheathed and I couldn’t help but linger on the sight of it.

“You… you are the most confusing person in the whole fucking kingdom, you know that?” He whispered breathlessly, angrily, sweeping his hair back from his face with both hands. 

“Well then we must be the perfect match, because I thought the same exact thing about you!” I spat in return, leaning away from the door to creep closer to Mother’s bedroom. There was a hidden trapdoor in her closet leading to a basement that doubled as a panic room.

Audwin prowled towards me, and I swore I saw tears glinting in his eyes. “You want me to stay away because you think I use you, and then you want me back because you think I abandoned you. What is it that you want from me, Signy?”

“I don’t think, I know.” I sank my teeth into my bottom lip to keep it from quivering as I took slow steps backwards to the door. “And I don’t want _anything_ from you!”

He laughed — and it was absolutely terrifying. “You are impossible! Why do I try for you? I don’t need you to be happy, and I sure as hell don’t need you to feel loved. For fuck’s sake, I don’t even need our marriage anymore! Corynne is without a king and I have nothing, absolutely nothing, standing in my way besides this pathetic excuse for a princess and a fool with feathers and a beak half the time.”

“Then just kill me and get it over with!” I abandoned my plan of escape and lunged towards him, slamming both of my hands into his chest. When he didn’t do anything but glower, I shoved him again. “You think you’re so high and mighty? Then prove it! Do it! The _Great_ Owl Sorcerer, oh so _magnificent_ —”

My arms went to hit it a third time, but he finally broke. I wasn’t sure if he slapped me or punched me; the effect was the same. Only this time when my body hit the floor, I lurched back to my feet without delay and landed a punch to his nose. Despite my dainty hand, I felt the bones snap under my fist. 

He reeled back, holding his broken nose with one hand and dealing a hefty punch to my side with the other. I staggered into an accent table, knocking over a handful of antiques as I used it to catch my balance. When Audwin took a step towards me with another arm swinging, I dug my nails under the frame of the round mirror hanging above the table and ripped it off. 

Shards of glass shattered in every direction as his fist met the surface of the mirror I managed to wrench between us as a shield. I dropped the broken mirror, lunged below another flying fist, and skittered low to the ground. Once his back was to me, I leapt back up and delivered a punch to his lower back using every muscle in my upper body. 

He whirled on me and caught my wrist mid-air as I was pulling back, yanking me towards him to drive his knee into my stomach. I cried out at the pain exploding in my lower abdomen, subconsciously curling inward to protect my vital organs. His bloody hand grabbed my braid and used it to jerk my head back so he could look down at me. I was practically boiling in his grasp, and both of our seething faces were streaked with red.

“Get down on your knees,” Audwin ordered quietly, darkly.

“Go to hell,” I collected my saliva and spat into his face. It came out light pink, tainted with blood.

“I’m already in one,” he hissed and kicked my knee inward.

I screamed and buckled to the floor, my body semi-lifted by the painful grip he had on my braid. Tears streamed down my face and I started sobbing, thrashing to try to lift myself in an effort to extinguish the fire raging on my scalp. To my anguish, he let go of my braid and hit the back of the neck. I fell forward onto my stomach, sending the room into a spinning blur around me. Groaning, I rolled over onto my back and rose to a weak stand on wobbling legs.

“I applaud you,” Audwin snickered, his nose clicking back into place with a snap of his fingers. He tried wiping the blood from his mouth, but only succeeded in smearing it further. “I wouldn’t have expected such a fight out of the adorable little princess I met at the ball. You never cease to amaze me.”

“Yeah? How’s this for adorable?” I darted at him and succeeded in handing out another punch to his smug face. 

He was caught off guard and his reaction time was too slow, rendering him unable to dodge. However, when I tossed a consecutive punch his way, he was alert and not only ducked, but lunged at me with his entire body. My back hit the floor and skid across it, the jagged floor tearing my sheer dress and delicate undergarments. We hit a wall and I struggled to breathe under the weight of Audwin’s body, which completely topped mine. Our heads were unbearably close, our breath and blood and hair and sweat all mixing. 

I whined and coughed hoarsely, my head throbbing too horribly to think straight. We laid there for the longest time, soaking in the echoes of our cruel words and savage actions that replayed in the heavy silence. Audwin let out a deep sigh after a while, resting the side of his face against what cushion my small breasts could provide. But he didn’t say anything. Neither did I. 

And so we laid there together on the filthy floor, bleeding, bruised, and hurting. But breathing. Still breathing. 

Eventually, Audwin stood. He ambled over to the kitchen and leaned over the sink with his head bowed over it. At first, I thought he was going to rinse his messy face, but to my utter shock, he… he started crying.

I swallowed hard, watching the sorcerer weep. He let out a tormented wail that made my very soul ache and he just… bawled. Of everything I had experienced since the night of our engagement, nothing shook me more than seeing him cry like that. It was raw, unrestrained emotion. My scar tingled with pins and needles.

Unable to watch any longer, I clambered to my feet. My first instinct was to go to him, but his body language indicated he did not wish for my company. So I let him be and hid underneath the covers of Mother’s bed with the bedroom door closed.

* * *

A knock at the door woke me from my restless, dreamless slumber.

I dragged myself out of the bed and wrapped a quilt around my middle like a towel (my dress and undergarments were in shreds and barely hanging on) before opening the door with a noisy creak.

Audwin, now shirtless and capeless, motioned with a nod of his head to the side for me to follow him. His expression was glum as he sauntered away. I trailed him out of the house and down the slope to the shore of the lake. The sun had just sank below the horizon, leaving the sky dark with a hazy glow of orange and pink where the trees met the earth. Crickets chirped in the distance.

A few yards from the water, a blanket was spread out over the round pebbles with two plates filled with slabs of grilled fish, sliced apples, raspberries, and hazelnuts. Two stemless wine glasses were filled to the rim with white wine; he must not have known they should only be filled one-third of the way, or maybe he simply didn’t care. It irked my inner royal.

Audwin sat down on the blanket and lifted his glass, immediately chugging it down. As I lowered myself down across from him and winced in pain, he grabbed the entire wine bottle and went to town with it. It occurred to me that he might’ve been more emotionally fucked up than I was, which was a strange thought.

I lowered my gaze and ate the mini feast he prepared for us, occasionally taking polite sips from my glass. He hardly touched his plate by the time I had completely cleared mine to satisfy my hunger pangs. Rather than eat, he sprawled out onto his back and let his hands rest on his abdomen as he presumably watched the stars appear in the clear night sky.

Letting the quilt fall from around me, I carefully crawled over to him and collapsed beside him on my back. “Do you know any constellations?” 

“No,” he murmured, keeping his eyes trained on the stars. 

“Mother taught me them. Those three stars in a line there,” I pointed up towards the sky as if it would help, “that’s Orion’s Belt.”

“I see…”

“And those seven stars shaped like a pan,” I pointed over to the other constellation, “that’s the Big Dipper.”

Audwin didn’t reply, but I caught his glowing eyes swerve to cast me a sidelong gaze.

“Cassiopeia was my mother’s favorite. It’s those five stars that look like a W over there. It represents the crown of a queen.” I smiled faintly for a fleeting moment.

“Your mother… was she nice?”

“Very. But she had to put on a stern face as queen, so she was sometimes…” I trailed off in thought.

“I never knew my mother.”

I turned my head to look at him directly, letting the information sink in. When he didn’t reveal anything more, I reached out to tenderly touch his arm. “I’m sorry.”

“I don’t want your pity.” Audwin angled his face away from me.

I slowly pulled my hand back and rubbed both of my arms sheepishly, glancing out at the lake. The full moon was reflected on its rippling surface.

Seeming to follow my train of thought, he rose and removed his black pants so his body was bare. Although I had already seen him in my dreams, this was my first time seeing him naked with my real eyes. Shameless, he strode out to the lake and waded through the water until he was submerged to his shoulders. I watched him duck his head into the water and jerk it back upright, flinging his wet hair out of his face. His pale skin resembled porcelain under the silvery moonlight.

I stood and walked over to the shore, tugging off what remained of my attire until I was completely exposed. Shyly, I entered the chilly water and swam over to him so there was a close but comfortable distance separating us. Following his actions, I momentarily sank below the surface and floated back up so the blood was washed from my face. There was a calmness between us, the tension gone.

 _Come here._

I obeyed his command, swimming up to him. He snaked both arms around my middle and leaned his head down, kissing me softly on the lips. I let my eyes fall closed as I grasped onto his shoulders and kissed him back. We had never kissed before, ever, and somehow this small taste of him was better than all the kissing Aldous and I did. I pressed up onto him, my breasts against his chest, and he deepened the kiss. My scar was hot, but not with pain. Just pleasurable warmth that radiated through my body, which was cold from the water.

We paused for a brief moment to breathe, then went back in together. His tongue found its way into my mouth and I wholeheartedly accepted its dominance over mine. It was becoming difficult to swim, but Audwin guided us gently back towards the shallow end of the lake so we could stand. Our pelvis’ locked together, setting the spot between my thighs alight with desire. I moaned, my arms moving to wind around his neck as my hips rocked into his, desperate for friction.

Audwin let out a soft moan and hooked his arms under my thighs, hoisting me onto him. He carried me to the shore and laid me down on my back against the pebbles, leaning over me to kiss me hungrily. I twisted my fingers into his wet hair, gasping as his lips left mine to give attention to my neck. His hand found one of my breasts and kneaded it harshly, his thumb brushing the already-stiff bud. I moaned louder and trembled under him, my body craving him. All of him.

He kissed down my chest to the scar, then pulled back to smirk down at me as he hovered over me. “I made you a promise. Not until you’re dying to have me.”

Right, he said something similar the night he rescued me from the woods. 

“I _am_ dying to have you,” I pleaded.

“Even if I were to give in, your body has endured enough today. I don’t have any potions to heal you.” Audwin gracefully transitioned to a stand and collected me into his arms, carrying me back to the house. “We need to rest. Tomorrow, we’re traveling back home.”

Disappointment weighed on my shoulders. 

“Corynne needs its queen,” he said.

“Aldous seems to be running the kingdom just fine,” I retorted bitterly.

Audwin’s face twisted in revulsion at the mere mention of him. He carried me into the lakehouse and lowered me carefully onto Mother’s bed. When he turned to leave, I grabbed his wrist. I could sense his surprise, which melted into satisfaction. 

We slept soundly together through the darkest of our nights with the comfort that tomorrow would bring a new dawn.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you very much for reading as always!! Your support means the world to me!! 
> 
> PS- Happy new year!! Cheers to 2021!!


	6. Save the Date

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Princess Signy encounters an alarming threat to her wedding day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoa, it’s been too long since I updated. Life got in the way. And surprise, surprise: this chapter contains violence, torture, and death. Read if you dare.

The following morning, Audwin and I awoke with swollen faces splotched with blue and violet. The emotional part of me felt pride upon seeing that Audwin did, in fact, look significantly worse than I did as a result of our scuffle. The logical part of me rebutted this was only because Audwin had been holding back and not because of any superior combat abilities I might’ve possessed. But mostly, I just felt guilty for snapping at him and losing myself to grief and anger. Uncle Arthur was right; what happened to the polite, shy princess I was before? Had I truly abandoned my prim-and-proper upbringing, or had I somehow absorbed some of Audwin’s volatile nature?

As I changed clothes, I opted against my black mourning attire and selected a mint green dress with a tan corset from the backpack I brought with me the night I ran away. I unbraided my hair and brushed it until it was soft and tame again, then left the pale tresses to cascade over my modest dress. After ripping the black veil off my gold tiara, I carefully set it back atop my head and left to find Audwin outside with the backpack dangling from one hand. 

I found him leaning against a side of the horse stable stationed beside the lakehouse, and I also found myself blushing and wide-eyed at his attractiveness I had never taken a moment to appreciate before. Even with the puffy bruises, he possessed a kind of dark beauty I had yet to witness in a man. His arms and ankles were both crossed, matching his vacant, bored expression, and he was dressed exquisitely in elegant attire presumably of magical origin. A flowy, silk magenta shirt hung from his middle, the baggy sleeves cinched at his wrists and the bottom hem tucked into a pair of slim-fitting, black pants with swirling, metallic silver embroidery. His typical half-cape was replaced by a full cape that draped black feathers down his entire backside, curling off at his slender calves.

The sacred site between my thighs awakened at his princely appearance, aching to be worshipped by him. What was wrong with me? 

“Something on your mind, sweet Signy?” Audwin smirked haughtily, abandoning the wall to stride my way. 

I dropped the backpack on the ground at my feet, my stomach fluttering like it used to with Aldous. “You look… nice.”

“I was aiming for sensual and intimidating, but I suppose ‘nice’ works well enough.” He paused in front of me, lifting both his hands to gently hold the sides of my face as his thumbs caressed my sore cheeks.

I smiled timidly, gazing into his unique magenta irises. “Thank you… for finding me, I mean. Truly. I had an unforgettable night with you.”

Instead of giving a verbal reply, he leaned down to kiss me, his lips full and soft against mine. I rested my palms flat against his firm chest and closed my eyes as we shared a too-brief moment of intimacy. When he pulled away, his fingers moved my long hair behind me and I didn’t miss his eyes sweeping over my body. “I will be returning to the castle with you today. I believe your friends require a reminder of who is claiming the throne. It would be rather unfortunate for your kingdom if I found an army waiting for me on my wedding day.”

I swallowed thickly. Last time he infiltrated the castle, Prince Ferdinand was sent back to Glorion in a pine box. 

“I suspect our entrance will be something of a commotion. I’d like you to look your absolute best, as any queen should.” A fleeting smile crossed his lips as he took a couple steps back and held out his hands, turning them up to the sky. 

Luminous tendrils of misty magenta spiraled out of his palms and danced through the air, coiling around my body in brilliant bands of light. When I was encased in the mystical glow, I felt the fabric of my dress shift from cotton to silk and the weight of my corset increase. The magic faded, leaving me to admire the luxurious magenta silk gown now adorning me. My corset was thick and angular, making my small breasts appear plumper than they were, and layered in black feathers that resembled Audwin’s cape. We matched each other flawlessly; a pair of magisterial rulers.

“Beautiful,” Audwin murmured, his gaze lingering noticeably on my accentuated breasts before his slender fingers reached towards my face. “One more thing…”

When his hand swiped through the air, an iridescent veil of silver shimmered in front of my eyes. It vanished swiftly, and he did the same to himself. When the veil dissipated, his beaten face was left pristine — the blue-purple bruises gone, the swelling gone, the shadows under his eyes gone. 

“The illusion will fade on its own over the next week.” He tousled his inky black hair and walked up to the stable, leading the dapple-gray horse I borrowed out into the open by her leather reins.

“Thank you.” I was still a blushing, giddy mess from his attire, compliments, and willingness to exert magical energy on me. 

While Audwin strapped my backpack to the tail-end of her backside, I approached the horse and rubbed her face affectionately. He moved to her side and placed his hands on her stormy pelt, whispering an incantation in a tongue I did not recognize. He stepped back just as two pillars of blinding magenta burst out from her sides and fanned out, the light dying to reveal two massive, black-feathered wings attached to the horse. I stared in awe, fascinated by his spellwork today and also becoming worried of how exhausted he would soon become.

“It’s only semi-permanent.” He shrugged casually as if it was nothing miraculous and held out his hand for me once he returned to the horse’s side. “I’ll revoke the enchantment when we return to the castle.”

I grabbed his hand and he helped hoist me onto the leather saddle, which was a particular struggle given my grand gown. He effortlessly leapt onto the winged horse behind me, his chest pressing hard against my back and his arms wrapping securely around my waist to grasp the reins. The idea of flying thousands of feet into the air was appreciably less frightening with Audwin accompanying me.

“You don’t have a fear of heights by chance, do you?” The sorcerer chuckled into my ear, nuzzling his face into my hair briefly.

Before I had a chance to respond, the reins snapped and the horse leapt off the ground into the air while powerfully beating her new set of wings. I screamed out of pure joy and the pulse-racing thrill of it, the wind whipping in my blonde tresses. We soared high above the treeline, providing us with a breathtaking bird’s eye view of the landscape. There was only one adjective to describe the experience: _exhilarating._

By the time the sun reached its peak in the sky, the castle came into view. I had expected Audwin to instruct the horse to begin its descent, but to my alarm, we continued flying full-speed ahead towards the castle. A shimmering bubble surrounded us, similar to the illusion he cast on our faces, before the horse angled herself towards the arrangement of colossal windows along the throne room. 

I screamed, this time out of pure terror, and Audwin’s left arm crooked protectively around my waist as we smashed through the windows — frames, glass, and all. The world seemed to slow around us, splinters of glass darting in every direction like an onslaught of crystalline arrows (which bounced harmlessly off our pearlescent bubble, of course). 

“Was it really necessary to break the windows?” I said breathlessly, recovering from the ride. They would cost a small fortune to replace.

“People fear power, and there is no better means of ensuring obedience than by fear,” Audwin justified simply before leaping off the horse in a fluid bound, then extended both hands to aid me in dismounting. “Quickly, now.”

I turned both legs over the side of the horse, careful to avoid her wings, and grabbed his bony hands. In a _whoosh_ of magenta silk from my extravagant gown, my heels hit the tile and crunched against broken glass. He let go of one hand and hurriedly pulled me across the expansive throne room by my other. I struggled to lift my skirt off my ankles to keep from tripping. 

In the hallway branching out from the central space, a cacophony of raised voices and metal armor clanking was drawing nearer. 

When I turned my attention away from the double-doors back to Audwin, he was slinking into Father’s monumental golden tile throne. His unusual eyes glinted with supremacy and maleficence. In a single tug, he yanked me down onto him and I quite literally tumbled unceremoniously into his lap.

“Audwin...” I whimpered, adjusting myself so I was somewhat upright. How must I have looked to my family and friends, splayed across his lap with his arm looped around my corseted waist, clothed in feathery, gothic attire that matched his own dark flair? Like his whore, I would wager. Not a queen.

“Just keep that pretty little mouth quiet for now.” Audwin’s aura exuded severity and his hot lips pressed against the delicate skin below my ear. “I don’t want to hear a peep from you, regardless of what happens. Yes?”

I hesitated, but what choice did I have? Whispering a faint “yes,” I leaned into his chest and pulled my knees up into his lap. It occured to me that he hadn’t merely come here to reestablish his position of power; he was claiming me, marking his territory. The new clothes, the submissive position, the hand on my hip... he wanted to show everyone I was on a leash. His _bitch._

The doors to the throne room burst open — the floodgates to an assembly of armed guards, flustered noblemen, and of course, Uncle Arthur. They first gawked and shouted at the completely shattered windows overlooking the forest and the distant village, then the winged horse grazing the tile. Finally, they caught sight of Audwin and I on the throne, their voices deadening to whispers. My chest tightened when a particular white swan waddled to the forefront of the panicked crowd.

“Signy, how nice of you to return to us.” Uncle marched forward, his thin arms crossed over his chest and his nose upturned. Him and the others maintained a noticeable distance from us. “And you, sorcerer.” His words were as sharp as the swords the knights wielded. “To what do we owe this pleasant surprise?” 

Audwin smiled, though it lacked benevolence. “A little birdie told me the throne now sits empty. As its been several months since my engagement, I simply wish to remind my lovely subjects whose head they will be crowning on the summer solstice. I assume wedding preparations are near completion?”

“Rest assured, _sorcerer_ ,” the title came as a biting insult from Uncle’s mouth, a sly jab at Audwin’s lack of royal status, “we have not forgotten your usurpation of our kingdom, nor your theft of the princess’ hand. The wedding preparations have just finished. Of course, you would know that if you were around.”

My scar stung with rage, but when I looked to Audwin, his expression didn’t reveal anything other than a kind of dangerous tranquility. Genuine fear for my uncle washed over me and I grasped a handful of Audwin’s silk shirt, hoping he would pick up my silent plea for his mercy on my people.

“Your audacity continues to astound me, chief minister.” Audwin’s voice was void of emotion, harsh and hollow. “Consider this your last warning. I care not if you share blood with dearest Signy. I can and will dispose of any halfwit who dares to speak down to me with such blatant contempt.”

The white swan at the front of the horrified crowd of nobility caught my eye, his feathers ruffling in pointed agitation. Aldous bowed his narrow head, swinging it back and forth. Guilt and shame clutched my heart, threatening to break it in half.

Uncle Arthur said nothing, his gloved hands balling into fists at his sides.

“Did my words reach your ears, old man, or have you gone deaf?” Audwin snapped, his shoulders rippling with tension. 

“I can hear perfectly fine.” Uncle bristled with scorn. “I am pondering how, exactly, you plan on _disposing_ your entire court, considering no one here will stoop so low as to show a modicum of respect to the likes of you.”

“Do you hear that, minister?” Audwin tilted his head, his fine locks of black hair falling to the side. He paused momentarily, then straightened his neck. “I don’t hear anything. In fact, the only mouth I hear spitting aspersions belongs to you.”

As if to exemplify his statement, the throne room became engulfed in heavy silence. The faces of the other nobles were stricken with fright, some of the fair women clutching onto their husbands. Even the guards had lowered their swords, exchanging uneasy looks, but ultimately did nothing to intervene.

The fury boiling in my scar simmered down, sick pleasure instead flowing into my chest. _Please,_ I begged Audwin through the curse that bound me to him.

“Congratulations,” the sorcerer whose lap I was still seated on announced grandly, “Aldous, you’ve just been promoted from castle nuisance to chief minister.”

I sank my teeth into my bottom lip to contain my cry of despair as Audwin flicked his wrist, conjuring a ring of magenta fire around Uncle Arthur that caused the nobles to flee backwards. The doors leading out of the throne room slammed shut with a resonating boom, like a crack of thunder. As if waiting for the beckon of their master, three ravens soared inside from the shattered windows and immediately descended upon my uncle.

I wished I could look away, but I found my eyes frozen on the display of ravens pecking at Uncle’s aged body as if it were a block of birdseed. The tortured screams of the old man and the petrified screams of the bystanders mixed to create a cacophony of ear-splitting caterwauls that echoed off the towering walls. My stomach twisted into a thick knot when, through the magical flames, I witnessed the first drops of crismon splatter to the golden tile. I swayed dizzily in Audwin’s lap, unable to process the sight of Uncle crumpling to the floor in a curled ball of torn flesh, shredded fabric, black feathers, and death-hued red. Entrails soon poured out of his gaping abdomen, sliding sickly over the tile. Several nobles stumbled away and vomited, their retching almost inaudible over the ceaseless wailing.

Behind the curtain of repugnance that had fallen over me, I detected a twinge of guilt that wasn’t mine. Not guilt for the man being publicly executed before us in one of the slowest methods possible, but for me. For subjecting me to a sight I would never be able to scrub out of my mind, a sight that would forever haunt me in the form of night terrors, a sight that could very well cancel out the affection I had developed for the man beside me.

I barely noticed when Aldous waddled up to the throne and flew into my lap in spite of the glares Audwin threw down to him. The swan burrowed his face into my feathered corset, his wings fanning around me in a way that resembled a hug. 

At last, when only the vague remains of a human body were left, the ravens departed and the magenta flames consumed Uncle’s body. The doors to the throne room creaked open, and the nobles slowly evacuated until only Audwin, Aldous, Miss Roslin, and I remained.

Miss Roslin, standing alone where there was once a crowd, sobbed and shakily blotted her flushed face with a handkerchief as she watched my uncle’s corpse burn. 

“I did warn him,” Audwin affirmed as he started to rise from the throne.

I hurried off his lap as fast as I could in my poofy gown, gathering Aldous in my arms and joining Miss Roslin’s side. Gazing at Audwin as he crossed the room, I couldn’t feel anything other than sorrow. I wanted to care for him, I wanted to please him, I wanted _him_ desperately, but he made it so fucking difficult. 

How could I possibly lust after someone as cruel as Audwin? Yet, I did.

“My dazzling little prize...” My sorcerer smirked over at me, his striking eyes raking over my Audwin-ified attire once again.

Aldous honked raucously, flapping his snowy wings erratically in my slender arms. I caged him firmly against my chest to prevent further casualties.

Audwin threatened Aldous with a look that I could only label as scathing. In a blur of black feathers, Audwin transformed into a giant owl and flew around the enchanted horse. As he soared back up towards the empty wall where the windows used to be, the wings on the horse vanquished to magenta smoke and the vibrant flames consuming Uncle Arthur diminished to insignificant sparks. After the Owl Sorcerer flew off into the midday sky, the glass shards on the tile suddenly shuddered to life and pieced themselves back into windows on the wall. 

A chill went down my spine when I glanced back at charred remains of my uncle. Blinded by my own desire, I had forgotten the magnitude of the malevolent power Audwin possessed. He was not a force to be reckoned with.

I was engaged to a fallen angel. 

Even so… I could no longer imagine not being his.

* * *

Almost a week had passed since the castle was subjected to yet another tragic death. Given Uncle Arthur’s disgust with me, I recovered from the grief of his loss in a matter of days. I attended the funeral this time, since missing two in a row would look odd to my subjects. Not that it mattered much, as my reputation had been utterly ruined. The only person in the castle who treated me with the same unending kindness and loyalty was Allora, my closest maid. Her gentle smile calmed me more than any herbal teas Miss Roslin tried to soothe my unsettled mind with.

If Aldous was busy before, he was unreachable now. His new position as chief minister ensured he had zero time left for me from sunset to sunrise. I could hardly consider him more than an acquaintance. Snowy had abandoned me, my best friend engrossed in his duties. I didn’t blame him — I suspected the occupation made him feel important again. He told me once that he used to be a real prince. Maybe he saw his chance to reclaim his royal status at the expense of throwing our friendship away.

I shivered over my evening tea, thinking of his confession of affection, his lips on mine, his hands on my breasts, his pelvis grinding into mine in the garden that one night. It seemed so long ago. Was that all fake? And the night I cried into his arms in my bedroom and he consoled me to sleep? Was that fake too? He seemed genuine at the time, but his sudden distance fostered doubt in my memory.

“Signy? Are you alright?” Miss Roslin paused her task in preparing my messy bed, walking over to the tiny, circular table I sat at in the corner of my bedroom. 

I jolted at her concerned voice, startled. Realizing I had unknowingly started crying, I hurriedly wiped my wet cheeks on the sleeve of my plum-purple dress. “Yes, I’m fine.”

“Are you thinking about him?” She sat on the stool across from me, her brown eyes wide. “The sorcerer?”

“No.” My eyebrows furrowed. “Aldous.”

“Aldous?” Miss Roslin looked incredulous. “Has something happened?”

“I never see him anymore. I feel like I’ve lost a friend.”

She reached across the table and squeezed my hand. “Oh, sweetheart… that’s not it. He’s so busy, you know that. All these new duties. He cares deeply for you, Signy. He’s doing all this for you, for your happiness. He wants the world for you.”

Instead of feeling touched, I felt empty. Pulling my hand away from hers, I stared off to the other end of the room. “I’m not so sure. I invited him to the castle to be by my side, but it seems he’s running my kingdom without me. I mean, nobody even asks for my input on matters I should be handling.”

“We don’t want to pressure you, honey. This is a tough time for you. Especially since…” She suddenly stopped, cutting herself off.

I returned my attention to her. “Since what?”

Miss Roslin gave me a pained expression. “Since the sorcerer cast that spell on you.”

I could barely hear myself whisper, “What?” 

“Aldous says you’re under a spell and that’s why you’ve been acting so different. And…” Again, she trailed off. Her lips pursed.

“And?”

“The sorcerer may be watching us. Through you. Oh, dear, I am so sorry to be the one telling you this. Aldous — he is meaning to stop by tonight. He has something important to discuss with you.”

In other words, they couldn’t trust me. Not only did everyone think I was some kind of slut, but I was also a puppet, a spy. I wasn’t their princess anymore.

“Signy, we’re going to fix this.” Miss Roslin smiled, though it was clearly forced. “Aldous is going to make this all go away. You won’t have to face that horrible sorcerer ever again.”

Alarm bells rang in my skull. “What do you mean?”

“Aldous will explain everything. He should be here within the hour, once he finishes a couple last-minute preparations. Drink your tea.” She pat my arm and stood, returning to making my bed.

Unable to do anything more, I finished my teacup and poured myself some more from the steaming pot. It was a different tea than usual, the fragrance alone strong enough to make my head a bit woozy when I sipped it. My limbs were becoming increasingly leaden. Tired…

Soon, the door to my bedroom opened. Aldous entered, nodded at Miss Roslin with one of his dashing smiles, and she promptly left. The door closed behind her, leaving me alone with him. His ivory-gold attire picked up an orange hue from the crackling fireplace and his skin looked so soft, warm, inviting. A stark contrast to the icy paleness of Audwin, although I hadn’t noticed how similar their faces were before. If Aldous had black hair, they could’ve been related.

“You don’t look very happy to see me.” His smile faded, replaced with a frown.

“Why should I be?” My hands trembled in my lap. “You’ve been absent for weeks. Do you make it a habit to charm young girls and then avoid them?” 

His expression darkened. “That’s not my intention. I still mean every word I said. Do you know what has occupied my time, Signy?”

“Yeah, I do.” My mouth became dry, despite the tea. “You’ve been running Corynne without me. You think I’m being controlled. Do I look like a toy to you?”

“Only partially true.” Aldous paced the room, his hands on his hips. He ignored the question about me being a toy. “I’ve been working alongside a team of private investigators to dig deeper into sorcery. We dissected what little books we could find. It’s a banned subject; information is scarce, and information in English is even scarcer. But we finally uncovered what I had been searching for.”

“And that is?”

“A way to get rid of Audwin.” This was the first time I had ever heard him speak that name. He only ever referred to him as the Owl Sorcerer, perhaps as a way to dehumanize him. 

My heartbeat stuttered at his claim. I inhaled sharply, panic setting in. 

“One book provided a riddle to finding an object that would protect its wearer against any spell cast by a sorcerer or sorceress. It won’t lift my curse, since it was already cast long ago, but it will prevent me from being affected by any new curses or hexes.” Aldous approached me, gingerly caressing my cheek with his thumb. “Audwin doesn’t know how to fight without magic. I can kill him.”

I resisted the urge to puke. 

“We solved the riddle and found this in an old cemetery not too far from here.” He reached into the inner pocket of his coat and pulled out a solid gold bangle. Its entire surface was adorned with multicolored, glittering jewels. 

“Why are you telling me this? If you think he’s watching through me…”

“I can’t say I know Audwin well, but I do know that cowardice is not one of his core traits. If by chance he is listening, I’m certain he won’t run from this. He is far too egotistical.” Aldous slid the bangle onto his wrist, brushing his fingertips over the stunning gems. “Besides, I wanted you to hear it from me. Just in case… you know… the book was wrong and I don’t return.”

My head was starting to spin. 

“I do plan on returning to you, Signy. I have extra insurance for worst case scenario. The sorcerer expended a mass amount of energy the other day. I would place a bet that he is completely drained of magical power. The odds are stacked against him. Tonight’s battle leans in my favor.”

“Tonight?” I was breathless, the room blurring.

“I can’t afford to waste any more time. Each day, he gains his strength back little by little. I need to act now while I still have the chance.”

I shook my head, my eyelids drooping as I fought to maintain consciousness. What on earth was in that tea? “No…”

Aldous suddenly grasped both sides of my head and kissed me deeply. I struggled weakly against him, trying desperately to shove him off. His tongue managed to wriggle through my pliant lips, easily overtaking my mouth. I groaned in refusal, my body gradually liquifying against him as he continued to kiss me with fervor. I didn’t want this anymore, not from him. My hands went slack on his chest, the spiked tea drawing my muscles to limpness. I had no choice but to give in to the open-mouthed kiss and the hands that explored my breasts without restraint.

 _Audwin,_ I simultaneously begged and warned.

When Aldous had finished groping me to his own content, he lifted me into his arms and carried me to my bed as my awareness was finally slipping away. He pulled the covers over me, stroking my soft hair and brushing it out of my face.

“The wedding next month will be ours. I know you’ll be delighted when you wake up from his spell tomorrow. This will all just be a nightmare we can put behind us. Swan or not, I want you as my wife. I love you.”

I whimpered, too fatigued to defy him. Two streams of tears trickled down my cheeks as I was dragged into the void of sleep.

**Audwin’s POV**

_Audwin!_

My nimble fingers paused their tinkering at the strained cry of Signy’s thoughts. Her distress scalded my eyes and I winced, pressing a thumb and a forefinger to my temples. I set down my project with my other hand and leaned back in my chair, telepathically reaching out to my princess. 

I caught flashes of Aldous kissing her, his hands on her. She was resisting his advances, but he chose to ignore her obvious distress. Everything was hazy, coming in bits and pieces. Her general feelings were strong, while her exact thoughts remained unclear; it was like trying to see through a fogged window. Something was wrong.

Picking mindlessly at my bottom lip, I struggled to make sense of what I was catching from her end. She wanted to warn me against something. Aldous had a trick up his sleeve. Gold. Shiny gems. Riddles. Coming tonight—

It cut off. The flow of sensory input abruptly halted and I could no longer feel her familiar glow of sincerity and naivety. I could only sense my other mindless pets roaming the moonlit forest, not her. Was she asleep? So suddenly? It occurred to me that if Aldous was carrying out a ploy, he had undoubtedly knocked Signy out to prevent her from intervening. I slammed my hands onto the table, rattling the collection of knick-knacks on it. Gods, fuck! 

Shaking my head in disgust, I sprung out of my chair and threw the entire table over. Everything scattered noisily. Why, of all the men in the world, did Signy have to bond with Aldous? I had been watching her for as long as she had befriended sweet Snowy, always watching through the eyes of my pets. I knew I wanted her to be mine long before I set my sights on her kingdom and certainly long before I knew of her being its one and only princess. Why couldn’t I win, just once?

Aldous had taken _everything_ from me.

And now that Signy no longer wanted him, he was still trying to take her from me? No fucking way I was giving her up, not now. My desire to own her had started as purely sexual, but something changed… I wanted all of her. I didn’t just crave her body — I craved her heart, her spirit. I so deeply needed the bright-eyed girl who rambled to me on the shore of a lake about silly constellations just to ease my mind after I completely lost myself to my demons. She wasn’t like the others. She made me feel something close to joy, even if she irritated me at times. She had wholly captivated me, and she owned me far more than I owned her.

Fuck Aldous. 

Let him come.

* * *

“It’s been a while, brother.”

I didn’t bother turning to face the voice of Aldous behind me as I pretended to leaf through a book while standing. “I recall seeing you not seven days ago.”

“You know very well what I meant.” His boots thudded nearer and the sound of a sword unsheathing sliced through the midnight stillness. “I’m tired of playing games. Lift Signy’s spell, or I’ll kill you here and now. It’s your choice.”

I smiled in amusement at his fierceness, setting the book down on a shelf and confronting him. “Really? Well, Aldous, I am just _shaking_ in my boots. What is that, a sword? That’s cute. You almost look like a big boy with that scary expression. Are you trying to act tough for Signy?”

“Lift her spell. Now.” Aldous stalked closer, brandishing his blade.

“And what spell would you be referring to?”

“Don’t play dumb. I know you cast a spell on that scar you gave her. Which, by the way, is a fantastic way of showing a girl you like her. How old are you, five?”

I narrowed my eyes. “I’d say it’s no worse than forcing myself on a girl while she’s drugged, wouldn’t you?”

“She was head over heels for me before you came along and ruined everything like always. I’d say she was fairly eager for me in the garden that evening, wouldn’t you?”

I strode casually away from him, avoiding being in proximity of his sword. Aside from me being magically emptied, I was wary of what he was plotting. Aldous wasn’t entirely foolish; he wouldn’t have come without a formidable edge. “Not as eager as she was to fuck me, I assure you.”

 _That_ stopped him cold in his tracks.

“What?” His voice was a low hiss.

“How does it feel to french a girl whose lips have been around my cock?” I smirked. Granted, it had been a shared dream and not reality. “Were you really so dense as to believe she would be immune to my unrivaled sex appeal?”

Aldous looked sick, shaking his head. “You didn’t — you _wouldn’t_ …”

“I did. Over and over again.” Lies. But if it got Aldous riled up, why not exaggerate for fun? “I deflowered your pretty little princess ages ago. Guess her virginity is something you’ll never get the luxury of taking. I, on the other hand, do oh-so-adore her precious moaning—”

“Shut up!” My brother shouted, his face contorting in anger. The hand that carried his sword trembled. “You fucking bastard! She was mine!”

“Was she? She didn’t seem to think so.” I shrugged, knowing I was pulling all the right strings to get him unhinged. “At least, not when she was begging me to fuck her. Who am I to deny such an innocent face?”

The irony was that I actually was denying her. He didn’t need to know that I was planning on saving her until we were both dying to have each other. When I finally claimed her, I would fuck her all night until she was a broken mess of sweat and cum under me. I wanted her to become intoxicated with sheer lust for me.

“Burn in hell,” Aldous retaliated before lunging at me with his sword swinging. 

I dodged smoothly, my movements graceful compared to the savagery of his outburst. He came at me again, and I waved my hand in an effort to cast a simple shield spell, only to realize it never manifested when his blade pierced my right shoulder. I staggered backwards, yanking myself off the silver spine of his sword. Blood drizzled onto the floorboards and I clutched my weeping shoulder in shock.

Aldous didn’t wait for my recovery and thrust his sword at me again. I narrowly dodged, sluggish from the white-hot pain of my stab wound. Hoping my failed shield was merely a fluke, I tried summoning a strong breeze to fling Aldous backwards. Nothing, again. I gritted my teeth, ducking under another attack and skittering close to the floor. When I was behind Aldous, I rose to full height and jammed an elbow in-between his shoulderblades with what force my lanky muscles could produce.

He stumbled forward and I seized the opportunity to swipe his legs with one of mine, knocking him flat onto his back. I pounced on him, gripping the wrist that held the sword and using all my might to angle the intimidating edge of the blade away from my neck. I despised showing weakness, especially to Aldous. Fury refueled my body and I managed to pry the hilt out of his sweaty fingers. Tossing the sword as far away as I could, I pinned his wrists to his sides and struggled to keep his legs down.

I noticed the gold glinting on one of his wrists, recognizing the assortment of colorful jewels from Signy’s fragmented memories. In a tangle of writhing limbs between the two of us, I let go of one of his wrists to rip the bangle from him. Aldous’ fist slammed into my bleeding shoulder and I snarled in pain, curling the bangle around my fingers like brass knuckles. I pummeled his face until the gems cut open his perfect complexion, my blood dripping onto his blood.

My arm quickly exhausted itself and I finished beating him senseless. Holding Aldous down, I stared into his gruesome face. “Since Signy still cares for you as a friend, I will let you go this once. And given your nerve to try to assassinate me in my own home, I’ll even grace you with the honor of being my best man at the wedding. Lucky you.” I chuckled breathily, grinning over him.

Aldous glared in silent rage at me.

“Oh, one more thing,” I leaned close to his ear, my voice low. “If I catch you on Signy again, you’ll lose whatever part of your body touches her.” Leaning away, I clambered off his body and started ambling in the direction of the bathroom so I could take care of my agonizing shoulder wound. The candles burning around the bottom floor illuminated the tower in a yellowy glow, shadows flickering on the stone walls.

I heard rustling behind me and I dismissed it as Aldous struggling to get on his feet. Absorbed in my thoughts, I didn’t pay attention to my rival as I neared the bathroom door. I didn’t notice his steps were behind me until they were right upon me and it was too late. 

_Slick._

Blood pattered onto the floor at my feet and I slowly looked down, noticing the red-coated blade protruding from my stomach. I frowned, swaying on my feet, unable to comprehend what I was seeing. The devastating pain came next, pricking through my abdomen like hundreds of porcupine quills. 

Aldous wrenched back his sword. The feeling of the blade leaving my abdomen was… strange. More blood splashed to the floor and soaked my black clothes, the pain rapidly overwhelming my nerves.

I fell onto my knees with a jarring thud, continuing to stare down the gaping hole in my stomach. My breath was already shallow. No magic, no potions, no escape… this was it. This was the end. This was it. Everything was over.

Aldous had already taken everything from me, and now he took my life. 

I slumped onto the floor, watching my brother disappear through the trapdoor and condemn me to die alone without so much as a farewell. Coughing, blood coating my lips, I fought to focus my fuzzy thoughts. An image of Signy comforted my fading mind: her silky blonde tresses, her sky blue irises, her plush pink lips, her soft dainty breasts, her gentle hands, her melodic voice speaking my accursed name. 

_My… beautiful princess…_ Tears streamed from my closing eyes. 

The cold, lonely embrace of death wrapped around me, cutting off the memory of her warmth, her sunshine. Darkness consumed the light of my world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading!! This is not the end!! I promise the next chapter will see the return of soft boy Audwin. And I believe this fanfic is due for another sprinkle of kinky s e x .


	7. Changing Fate

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Princess Signy takes matters into her own hands.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoy this explicit chapter with only Audwin and Signy on stage!!

_I awoke to frigid water splashing onto my bare body and a bitter wind that stung like sandpaper against my chilly skin. Painfully, I peeled open my eyelids against the brittle crust of frost that had sewn my eyelashes together. I propped myself up on a shore of round black pebbles, peering blurrily out at the gray lake that was half-frozen over. Chunks of silvery ice floated along its turbulent waves, their surfaces glowing as they reflected pure starlight. Above the lake, a void-like black sky threatened to swallow the dreamworld, hosting trillions of huge white stars that twinkled and glimmered radiantly unlike anything I had ever seen. The dazzling display of white stars against the black veil was mesmerizing._

_Beyond the unnervingly dark, icy lake, transparent grayish-black pines faded into smoky nothingness, as if the world had merely ended. I weakly rose to my feet, my limbs unwilling to move under the layer of white frost decorating my skin in patterns that resembled snowflakes melded together. When I slowly pivoted, I caught sight of a body lying limply on the pebbled shore. With each ruthless wave hitting the body, it was dragged deeper into the lake so that it was already almost consumed by the eerie depths._

_“Audwin,” I croaked as I stumbled stiffly over to him and collapsed by his side, desperately tugging him out of the dangerous water by his arm._

_He was so, so cold. Too cold._

_His skin was snow-white, the spiderweb of veins running underneath a sickly bluish-purple. His still chest was bare, ice crystals spiking out over his lifeless flesh, and the black fabric of his pants were frozen stiff. My lips trembled as I noticed a deep wound in his right shoulder and the thick, black blood that oozed down. And his stomach… oh, gods. The puncture was deep, cutting straight through his abdomen, spitting the same black blood that resembled vicious ink. I clapped a hand over my mouth, squeezing my eyes shut as hot tears melted the frost on my cheeks._

_Audwin wasn’t going to open his eyes._

_I sobbed his name, letting myself fall forward onto his body and throwing my arms around him. The stormy, arctic waters splashed onto us, once again pulling us back towards the lake. I didn’t fight it, instead burying my face into the crook of his shoulder and neck. Why? Why was this happening to me?_

_A few minutes into my pity party, I lifted my head and noticed the dreamworld was caving in on me. The pines circling the lakeshore were fading into smoke and the brilliant stars were falling from the sky, streaking the darkness in gleaming bands of white light that died out before they reached the water. Panic bubbled in my chest and I lifted myself off Audwin, unable to accept the reality that this was going to be the last time I ever saw him._

_Last time…_

_No!_

_This was my dream, and I was the one who was going to decide when it ended. I threw my hands out in front of me, releasing an enraged scream that scared the dream into freezing. Everything quite literally froze: the falling stars crystalized midair, the smoky trees solidified into translucent gray, the water hardened into solid ice. I punched the ice around Audwin’s body into shards and dragged him upshore on my hands and knees._

_Pulling his head into my lap, I sniffled and ran my fingers through his frosted black locks of hair. His face wasn’t peaceful — he was almost frowning, as if expressing his displeasure at losing to Aldous even in death. I tried to clear my mind and think, just think, in the silence. If he was here, maybe he wasn’t totally gone just yet. Perhaps the gods had granted me a little bit of spare time to change his fate._

_But how? How could I reverse death? There was no natural means of doing so, meaning I was left with only sorcery. I didn’t know any spells, let alone one that could save him. I tried to remember what I’d heard about magic over the months._

_**“Magic is powered by desire and energy.”** The memory of Audwin’s voice came floating back to me from the evening I visited Mother’s grave._

_Desire? Check. Energy? Not so much. I furrowed my eyebrows, releasing a huff of frustration. Fresh tears slipped from my eyes and I craned my neck to look down at my ‘A’ scar, which glowed vibrant magenta amidst the monochrome world. I touched it with my fingertips — it was still warm — and the faintest of smiles reached my lips. The magic in my scar hadn’t perished with Audwin; our connection had surpassed death._

_“That’s it,” I gasped in realization._

_Energy! Audwin had been left incredibly weak after casting the blood spell that night, meaning my scar harbored a substantial amount of magic. If I could somehow channel the energy from my scar into Audwin, maybe I could heal him. Would that save him? I couldn’t say. But more importantly, how was I supposed to ‘break’ the seal keeping his magic inside me?_

_I bit my bottom lip, absentmindedly looking around. Everything was still frozen, because I had wanted everything to stop. This was only a dream, after all. Audwin had manipulated our previous shared dreams to create landscapes that suited his darkness, even conjured mindless women from his imagination. The pile of broken ice I had punched moments before caught my eye._

_Crawling over to the fragmented ice, I grabbed a particularly large sliver and willed it to morph into a dagger. The slick, white ice grew in my fingers, a hilt filling my grasp and the point elongating into a sharp blade. I clambered back over to Audwin and gazed down into his crestfallen face, my eyes blurring._

_I concentrated on my desire to resurrect Audwin as I lifted the ice dagger and pressed the point to my glowing scar. This was my only chance._

_“Wake up, you bastard!” I shouted in a wavering cry as I drove the dagger into my heart, black blood spilling down my bare body._

_Fortunately, I didn’t feel pain. Just cold. I yanked the dagger out and let it plummet onto the pebbled shore. Imagining the magic leaving my body, I watched as my desire manifested and spiraling strands of magenta light danced out of my chest. I raised my hands and when the magenta swirls floated over my palms, they transformed into blinding threads of gold that glittered like diamonds._

_The golden whirls continued bobbing through the air and I directed them with my intentions to sink into his slashed stomach. His abdomen radiated sunny light as his wounds swiftly healed and liquid gold gushed through his veins, shifting his chilly white skin back to soft peach until his entire body was warm, alive, and blissfully restored. His chest swelled with the first breath of new life._

_Suddenly exhausted, I toppled over onto my stomach and found myself unable to hold onto the dream linking us any longer. Stars resumed falling around me, and everything faded away to smoke._

* * *

I coughed hoarsely, groaning at the relentless headache hammering against my skull. My sweaty, feverish body felt like it had been hit and ran over by a horse-drawn carriage. I struggled under the weight of my bedding, which was a hundred times heavier than usual, and I eventually rolled out of the bed. When I hit the hard floor, I groaned at the disorienting illusion of my bedroom spinning.

My stomach lurched with nausea and I dry-heaved with a gag, bile stinging in my throat. I scrambled to my feet and sprinted haphazardly to my en-suite bathroom. Knees hitting the tile, I gripped the sides of the ivory toilet and puked uncontrollably with tears squeezing out of my eyes from the force. My head pounded harder with each retch until I was sagging over the toilet, the disgusting stench of half-digested food and drugged tea filling my nostrils. 

Dizzily, I cleaned myself up and walked over to the mirror. As expected, I looked like I had just crawled up from the depths of hell, but that wasn’t what I was interested in. I pulled the front of my plum-purple dress down, exposing the narrow valley between my breasts. Unblemished skin reflected back to me, the scar nowhere in sight. I toppled into an empty pit of loneliness without the magic binding me to Audwin, but the hope of his survival kept me level-headed.

“I need to get out of here,” I mumbled to myself as I staggered out into my bedroom again. My initial instinct was to throw myself out of the window and make a beeline to Audwin’s tower, but I discovered the glass to be completely boarded up with wood planks. I inhaled sharply in alarm and hastened to my main door, jiggling the locked handle. 

Aldous had trapped me in here.

“Come on, Signy, think.” I scanned my available resources, eventually settling on a metal fire poker hanging next to my fireplace. It would have to do.

I approached the blocked window, examining the nails. The handiwork wasn’t exemplary; it didn’t look like it would take an enormous amount of strength to remove the boards. I dug the point of the poker under the border of the middle plank and jerked it back as hard as I could, propping a foot against the wall for support. Clenching my teeth, I heaved back with my upper body and the nails gave out. I flew onto my backside at the sudden release of tension, woozy again.

Shaking it off, I returned to my arduous task. Once half the planks had been removed or were at least hanging off on one side, I slid up the window and wiggled my way out onto the roof with the grace of an inchworm. Similar to last time I escaped, I grappled with a tree branch and swung myself into its tangle of crooked limbs. Once my feet landed on the firm grass, I was able to sneak out of the midnight courtyard undetected by the half-asleep guards and disappear into the forest. 

I practically ran to Audwin’s tower. Fireflies, having matured just in time for summer, illuminated my path, as if sent by the gods themselves to guide me. When I finally reached the top of his spiral stairway, I was panting and gasping for air. 

“Audwin!” I shouted breathlessly, yet I was too distressed to be ashamed of the desperation apparent in my tone. I emerged from the trapdoor.

The sight of his motionless body on the wooden floor, steeped in his own blood, made my heart seize up. His tower was illuminated by his fireplace and dozens of candles placed around the bottom level. I hurried over to him and kneeled beside him, cradling his head in my hands. He was breathing, albeit faintly.

“Audwin! Wake up!” I used my remaining strength to pull his upper body up against my chest so I could embrace him tightly. His cold blood soaked into my dress and raised goosebumps along my skin. I rocked us forward and backward, fighting back tears. “I’m here! Please, wake up!” I needed evidence that his soul had remained in tact with his healed body before I accepted that he was really alive.

He gently hugged me back, his face moving into my frizzy hair. I stilled, wondering if I had imagined it. He whispered my name almost inaudibly, his cool lips softly kissing my ear. His arms tightened around me and his hands pressed flat against my sweat-dampened back, pulling me into him.

“Don’t ever leave me again.” My soft voice quivered. 

“How…” he murmured, sounding oddly detached, “how am I alive?” 

“Magic,” I whispered. “I dreamt of your dead body. I broke the blood bond and used its power to bring you back.”

Audwin’s hands traveled to my hips and he leaned back, staring at me with wonder in his wide, magenta eyes. “You really did save me?”

I nodded, unsure of what was running through that mind of his.

“I thought you’d take the opportunity to dump me.” He chuckled weakly, smiling a little. “I should’ve known my darling girl was better than that.”

“The only one being dumped is Aldous,” I said quietly. “He drugged my tea, touched me—”

“I know.” His expression darkened again. “I heard you.”

I shook my head in disgust. “He was going to force me to marry him. After I went to sleep, he boarded up my window and locked my door. How could he do that to me?”

“Aldous is a troubled man. There are things he never told you about his past, about _our_ past.” Audwin sighed deeply, lowering his eyes. “I’ll find a way to deal with him, and I promise I’ll tell you everything someday.”

“Someday soon?” I asked timidly, letting my arms away from him.

“Soon. Not tonight, though.” He leaned in and kissed me briefly on the lips before pulling back, caressing my cheek. “Tonight I just want to ravish you.”

Warmth flooded my face. “I’d like that, but we should get this blood off first. Take off your clothes while I get a washcloth.”

“Your wish is my command, Your Highness.” Audwin smirked teasingly as I stood on wobbly legs.

I couldn’t resist a smile, blushing and walking off to the bathroom. One glance at the mirror told me that my beautiful dress was ruined, since blood splotched the front in irremovable stains. I grabbed a washcloth and ran it under the sink water, ringing it out before returning to Audwin. He stood shamelessly naked in the middle of his tower, his ruined clothes in a messy pile on the floor.

And my eyes wandered shamelessly to a very particular area of interest located between where his abdomen met his thighs. 

Audwin cleared his throat, though his eyes only twinkled with mischief. He appeared to have regained much of his strength and wit. “If you keep looking at me like that, I might not be able to wait for you to clean me.”

“Well, I have _no idea_ what you’re talking about,” I teased while biting my lip. Holding onto his clean shoulder to steady him, I dragged the warm washcloth over his bloodied shoulder and trailed down over his firm chest. I would be lying if I said I wasn’t utilizing this chance to once again admire his godly body.

“Ah, I forgot. A fair princess wouldn’t dare express desire for a repulsive sorcerer.” His comment was only half-joking; I sensed the bitterness lying underneath his silly tone.

I opted to say nothing in fear of replying wrongly, wiping the blood from his healed stomach and keeping my eyes away from his face.

“Fortunately for your dignity, I also happen to be a prince.”

I halted my movements, letting the information process. Was he still just messing around? There was no way he could’ve been of royal birth, was there? 

“I wouldn’t mind if your hand were to go lower, sweetheart.” Audwin jested suggestively, but I didn’t fall for his attempt to brush over his confession.

“You’re a prince?” I straighted up, staring at him in shock.

He smiled wryly. “What? Do I not look princely enough? That’s fair.”

“No, I just…” I smiled back sheepishly. “I didn’t expect to hear that from you. I apologize if I offended you.”

Against all odds, he laughed with a grin. It was unusual for him. “Not even remotely close. I’ve been waiting for the precise moment to tell you, and your reaction was well worth the wait.” He paused, thick eyelashes fluttering. “To be truly honest, it’s comforting that someone else knows besides that birdbrain.”

“ _Aldous_ knows?” How could Aldous know and not me?

Audwin nodded, sadness pulling away his smile. He revealed nothing more and I understood this was where the line of the past was drawn. Someday, he promised. I resumed cleaning him up (while struggling to keep my eyes off the prize) and when I turned to retreat to the bathroom, Audwin whirled me back around by my forearm. He captured me in a deep kiss, grabbing the bloody washcloth from my hand and tossing it carelessly into the pile of clothes. I wound my arms around his neck, sliding my fingers into his black, soft wisps of hair.

It didn’t take much kissing before his tongue prodded at my lips, demanding entry. I wholeheartedly accepted him into my mouth, letting his tongue dominate mine in a pleasurable dance. His hands slid down my sides, feeling every curve, and I welcomed the gesture by pressing closer to his body. My muscles snapped with tension when I felt the hem of my dress being tugged up over my thighs. Audwin abruptly broke the kiss to give me a long, relaxed stare, his hands hovering on the bottom of my dress. A silent question of consent.

Rather than answering verbally, I reached down and placed my palms delicately over his slender fingers. I guided his hands to pull my dress higher and higher until the fabric bunched up over my breasts, then I allowed him to finish the rest. My dress was swiftly added to the growing pile beside us, leaving me in a lacey, cream-colored bralette and matching panties. Anxiety always seemed to make a corset tighter around my lungs, so I frequently opted for less proper attire in favor of breathing. Tonight, however, I just so happened to be wearing my more provocative underthings. Miss Roslin had explicitly referred to them as “whore garments” when I purchased them in the village a couple weeks back.

Perhaps she was right. And perhaps I didn’t care anymore.

“You certainly know how to tantalize me,” Audwin murmured with a smirk as his tongue dragged slowly over his lips. His fingertips scuttled over the tender skin of my exposed abdomen, raising goosebumps wherever he touched. I shuddered in response, and he chuckled quietly. “I believe a proper ‘thank you’ is in order for saving me from hell. But my gracious payment requires you to be naked and spread open for me on my bed.”

Something deep inside me, in the sweet spot between my thighs, clenched at his hushed, alluring words. I was already bathing in arousal, my body anticipating to tremble and arch under him. Shakily, I removed my bra and panties while Audwin retreated several steps to oggle my complete bareness. I let him assess me for a moment longer before rushing to his bed and sprawling out on my back with my legs peeled open. It was a humiliating position, but my lust overrode my shame.

Audwin, of course, took his time approaching the bed. His hand was attached to his chin as he sauntered forth with evident smugness, a seductive expression splashed on his handsome face. As he admired me, I let my head rest to the side so I could memorize his body in the flickering firelight and candlelight.

“I’m losing youth over here,” I complained with a pout. 

“Always so ungrateful,” he shook his head with a wry smile as he _finally_ climbed onto the bed to straddle my more-than-ready body. “They say patience is a virtue.”

“I’m not feeling especially virtuous at the moment,” I countered with an exaggerated grimace. Premarital sex was not looked at favorably by common folk, and it was considered even more taboo among nobility.

“Oh? How are you feeling then?” He hovered over me on his knees, running his hands over my breasts and pinching my nipples lightly.

I bit back a moan, swallowing hard. “Needy.”

“Needy for what?” His hands kneaded my breasts, fully cupping them. I almost jerked every time his thumbs pushed over my stiffening nipples.

“You know what,” I replied breathily, the aching emptiness in my core becoming increasingly demanding.

“No, I don’t think I do.” His hands traveled down my stomach and swept over to my inner thighs, purposefully dodging my slick folds.

I whined, throwing my head back in frustration. “Audwin!”

“Are you dying for it now?” Clarification that the requirements of his promise to hold off on fucking me had been fully met.

“Yes! Please touch me!” I strained my neck to stare longingly at the hands inches away from my surely-glistening core.

“I’m not convinced.”

I sat straight up, our noses touching and hot breaths mingling. With my gaze never leaving his mystical irises, I begged in a desperate whisper, “Please fuck me. Audwin, please, _please_ fuck me. I can’t wait any longer. I need you inside me now, filling me to the brim, your cum pouring into—”

He kissed me harshly, sliding his fingers around my throat. Guiding me back down to bed by his passionate tongue and his loose grip on my neck, his free hand slid over my pulsing wetness and two fingers pried my tight entrance open. I cried out against his mouth in a mix of pleasure and pain, struggling to adjust to the sudden intrusion. His fingers curled into me as they thrust in to his knuckles, hitting a spot against my inner walls that made me gasp and moan around his tongue. A third one joined and I tightened around them as if trying to preserve the intoxicating sensation of being full, a string of moans escaping my throat.

His thumb met my clit and I cried out in solely pleasure this time, my hands flying up to claw onto his shoulders for support. My eyes rolled into the back of my head. So good, beyond good, everything building up, almost to the top, ready to tip over the edge—

Audwin’s hand ripped out of me. I writhed in complaint, but his hand tightened around my neck and he hushed me with sloppy, quick kisses along my jawline. His own breath was almost as erratic as mine and I knew he must’ve been throbbing for me without having to look for verification. I was on the verge of tears, my thighs trembling with the amount of stimulation I was drowning under. 

“You know, Signy…” he began with shaking breaths in between kisses peppered down my neck, “I was planning to resist taking you until our honeymoon,” another round of kisses to my breasts, “but I was never one for self control.”

I moaned softly here and there, my head rolling side to side with my eyes closed. My core throbbed relentlessly at its emptiness, its tears weeping from my slit and dripping down to the bed. Fuck, I had never wanted something so badly.

“This will hurt,” he warned as he lifted his head off my chest and slammed his entire length into me, one hand still coiled around my throat. 

He was correct. However, the splinters of pain shooting into me were quickly assuaged with tidal waves of pleasure. I slid my hands up to the back of his neck, pulling at his hair as he thrusted all the way into me. If his fingers filled me before, my walls were ready to burst around his (very impressive) cock. He released a deep, guttural moan of satisfaction, his eyes briefly closing as his mouth fell open. I was genuinely worried the bed was going to break beneath us, judging by all of the noisy mattress creaking and skidding of the wooden frame along the floorboards. He appeared determined to hammer me into the sheets, our bodies swinging in hasty unison like the pendulum of a great grandfather clock. Time was counting down to our climaxes, which grew nearer with each moan-filled second that ticked by.

“Fuck, Signy,” Audwin moaned thickly, shoving his face into my shoulder.

It was almost here. I could feel it. He could feel it too. I wheezed for air as his fingers clenched around my throat and I yanked sharply on his locks of hair trapped in my grasp. He let out a groan and sank his teeth into my shoulder, initiating both of our orgasms. My back arched into his chest as I cried and moaned and screamed his name, clenching around his dick in pulsating throbs. A new heat filled me, almost invisible to my shot nerves amid the sensation of his still-thrusting length and my core milking it for more of that sweet warmth. I was only distantly aware of the prickling pain spreading out from my shoulder and the wetness accumulating there when his mouth detached from my broken skin.

I went totally limp on his bed when he pulled out of me, my fragile body recovering from the intense and much-needed fucking it underwent. Our heavy panting was the only sound that occupied the tower. I wasn’t sure how long had passed when his lips tenderly met mine after our breathing steadied again. Without opening my eyes, I slowly wrapped my arms around his middle in a loose hug and kissed him gently in return. His fingers, once cutting off airflow, delicately stroked my disheveled tresses and affectionately caressed my cheek. It was an appreciated gesture to focus on instead of the burning, bloody bitemark on my shoulder.

“I have to cast something,” he murmured into my ear after he broke the kiss and propped himself up on his knees. With an unintelligible mumble of gibberish, his hand pressed flat against the mound at my pelvis. A cluster of magenta sparks danced over my skin, then sank into me with a fleeting feeling of chilliness somewhere inside me. I had a guess as to what he had just done, and it had something to do with protecting us against any unwanted surprises.

I let him rest a moment longer before asking quietly, “What am I supposed to tell Aldous tomorrow?”

Audwin sighed and flopped down beside me on his stomach, crooking an arm around my middle. He turned his face towards me as his head laid on a pillow, a gloominess falling over him. No words left him for a minute or two. “Tell him you’re upset with him for crossing the line and you ran off to Swan Lake to be alone. As far he knows, I’m still dead and you’re agreeing to marry him only to lift his curse like you promised. I’d like to see the look on that bastard’s face when I crash my own wedding. The humiliation he’ll suffer will be punishment enough.” 

I nodded. Still, I had to know... “What if he, um, tries something again?” 

“He won’t. My supposed love spell is lifted and you can show him proof that your scar is gone. If he believes you’re really ‘you,’ he won’t harass you, but he’ll try his damn hardest to charm you. I think it goes without saying that I will tear him apart limb by limb if you so much as hold his hand.” He didn’t sound threatening, just plain fatigued. Another sigh left his lips and all the flames in the tower flickered out as if he had blown them out, leaving us in darkness. The conversation was over.

I snuggled up to him, draping an arm and a leg over him as I tucked my head under his chin. His bewitching fragrance of mahogany and spice blessed my nose and I cherished the feeling of his naked body flush against mine. He briefly shifted to press a kiss the top of my head, his arm curling slightly harder against my back to pull me impossibly closer. I wished I knew what he was feeling.

“Sweet dreams,” he murmured.

“Not without you in them,” I mumbled.

Falling asleep in Audwin’s arms was a gift I would never tire of receiving.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading!! I appreciate the spectacular comments I’ve received for the past chapters!!


	8. Roots of Hatred

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Princess Signy embarks on a journey down memory lane.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warning for child abuse, graphic violence, and reference to rape.

“You did splendid tonight,” Aldous commended me with a warm smile as he walked me back to my bedroom following another long night of duties. “Corynne is lucky to have you crowned its queen next week.”

“Thank you.” I returned his smile, sincerely touched by his praise. Despite all that had transpired, I was grateful to have my best friend back for the past weeks following what Aldous still believed was a successful assassination.

“If you’d like, I can join you in bed.” He offered when my door came into sight and we slowed to a halt in front of it. “We’ll be sleeping together soon, anyways.”

“Oh, no — that won’t be necessary!” I rejected rather quickly, nervously wringing my hands. I had internally forgiven him for his unwelcome advances from before, but I didn’t want to risk anything else happening. Besides, I was expecting a visitor. “I’m actually going to take a much needed bath.”

Aldous’ smile wavered. However, he took a polite step back and lowered his dark eyes. “Rest well, then. You deserve it. Good morning.”

I giggled at his silly joke and wished him the same before retreating into my bedroom, leaning my back against the door to close it. Since our sleep schedules had been reversed to accommodate his curse, we now bade each other “good morning” instead of “good night.” It helped ease the unspoken tension between us.

To my disappointment, Audwin wasn’t waiting for me at his usual seat on the window sill when I fully entered the wide expanse of my floral bedroom. He had taken up the habit of visiting me most mornings after he had brought me a false bangle to swap out with Aldous’ real anti-magic bangle. Since then, he almost always made time to attentively listen to me ramble about my night and everything I was dealing with. After I talked away the rest of my energy, he would lie down beside me until I fell asleep. Maybe something important was preoccupying his time this morning, though I couldn’t imagine what.

Well, I _did_ need a bath. I turned on the faucet in my circular ivory tub and shed my clothes, letting them fall to the tile floor. When the tub had filled, I drizzled in a satisfactory amount of bubble soap and added a few drops of lavender essential oil. I settled into the lukewarm water; there was no way to enjoy a hot bath without heating pots of water over a fire, but it was fortunately summertime so the water wasn’t naturally freezing. Resting my head back, I let out a content sigh and let my mind wander. And of course, my mind wandered straight to Audwin.

I recalled our night of passion for the trillionth time, wishing he would fuck me again. As I let the scene replay in my mind, I touched my fingertips to the barely-there bitemark on my shoulder. The parallel rows of scabs had healed to faint red marks in the shape of his teeth, nearly erasing the evidence of our true first time together. My fingertips trailed down, touching my hard nipples, and dipped under the mound at my pelvis. A breathy moan left my lips as I grazed my clit, shutting my eyes to imagine it was my lover’s fingers instead of my own.

“Audwin,” I moaned softly as I rubbed myself with one hand and massaged my breasts with the other. My back arched off the curved side of the tub at the prompting of my imminent climax.

“If I had known you were this desperate, I would’ve arrived sooner,” a familiar voice interrupted my fantasy.

I yelped in fright, tearing my hands away from my body and flinging open my eyelids to find Audwin leaning against the doorframe to my bathroom with his arms crossed over his chest. He was shirtless and capeless tonight, only wearing his signature black pants and heeled boots. Heat rushed into my cheeks from a combination of my embarrassment and his attractiveness. 

“By all means, finish.” He smirked, flourishing his hand in a ‘continue’ gesture.

I sank lower into the tub until water reached my neck, encouraging the top layer of bubbles to conceal my nakedness. “I’d rather you finish it for me.”

“Perhaps. I do have something to discuss with you first and I can’t promise you will be open to intimacy afterwards.” Audwin’s mystical eyes settled on what little he could see of me below the frothy surface of the water, though his tone no longer carried amusement.

Anxiety crushed my chest. Releasing a shaky breath, I nodded and unplugged the drain of the tub. I grabbed a fluffy towel as I rose to my feet and hastily dried myself off before wrapping it securely around my middle. Audwin approached the tub to offer his hand, which I gratefully accepted to help me out of the tub without slipping on the tile. I thanked him and grabbed a comb off my vanity, but to my surprise, Audwin gently took it from me. He stood behind me and I watched him untangle my hip-length blonde tresses in the reflection of the mirror. When my wet hair was silky smooth again, he grabbed a hair tie from my mess of things on the counter and swiftly braided my hair down my back.

He knew how to braid? Or had he learned specifically for me because he had noticed my preference for sleeping with braided hair?

“Thank you, Audwin.” I turned to face him and smiled with a blush.

He said nothing, instead caressing my cheek with his thumb. When he moseyed out to my bedroom, I donned my nightgown in my closet and then crawled into bed with him. He was leaning against my headboard atop the sheets, watching me calmly, expression blank. 

“What did you want to talk to me about?” I asked in a small voice, sitting criss-cross to the side of him so I could give him my undivided attention.

“I promised that I would tell you everything someday, about my past and my rivalry with Aldous.” He didn’t appear especially thrilled. “It’s ‘someday.’”

“Oh...” I wasn’t comforted by his lack of enthusiasm. “You don’t have to tell me.“ I lowered my head to pick at the bedding. “If that’s not what you wish.”

Audwin was quiet for a moment, seeming to consider dropping it. When he spoke again, his tone was stronger. “You deserve to know. I can’t bring myself to talk about it openly yet, so I thought I’d show you instead.”

“Show me?”

“I know a spell.” He leaned close and placed his hand on the side of my head, staring down at my lips. “It’s delicate magic, so I need you to stay very, very still while I cast it, even if it hurts at first. Do you think you can do this for me?”

I whispered a fearful, “yes.”

“Good girl. Don’t move.” He closed his eyes and began murmuring a chant in a language I did not understand. By the fourth chant, a terrible pinching sensation prickled all over my brain and I locked my muscles in place to refrain from flinching back or crying out in pain. It only lasted a few seconds before I suddenly lost access to my senses, consumed by a sensation of floating.

Soon, colors burst to life in the sleep-like darkness…

_I was screaming._

_Little fists banging on a wooden trapdoor on the floor of a dimly lit stone room and rattling the metal chains on the underside, I screamed and screamed until my parched throat was raw from exertion. I fought to stop the movements due to the pain bursting up my arms from my bruised hands, but I had no control over this body. Audwin’s body, I realized, though it felt every bit as real as my own. I could only helplessly peer through his eyes as the memory played out and my ability to differentiate my consciousness from his diminished._

_We sank down to our knees, hitting our forehead against the trapdoor and letting it rest there as we sobbed. Hunger wracked our stomach and we pressed a childish hand to it, as if trying to silence the growls. Where was Father? It had been over three days since he had brought us food. Did he finally abandon us for good?_

_We sniffed and crawled over to a small bookcase, grabbing a thin book. The sentences were short and easy to read despite our more advanced reading level. Each page had an artwork painted from watercolors to go along with the simplistic story. We had memorized every word long ago, as Father rarely brought us gifts and few books sparsely occupied a single shelf of the bookcase. Reading was our only source of preoccupation._

_Our tears dropped onto the worn pages and soaked into the faded illustrations while we flipped through the book yet again._

_Father..._

The memory rippled and another one took its place.

_We were much bigger now, early teens. Our voice had deepened with the beginning stages of maturation into manhood, evident as we talked with Father. He was sat across from us at a dingy, small table in the stone room, his smoldering scarlet eyes glaring into us with the same disapproval we were always subjected to. Running a calloused hand through his thick mop of black hair as he leaned back in the chair with a creak, he let out an agitated sigh._

_“Magic? The fuck do you need spells for?” His twisted scowl could make a newly-bloomed flower shrivel. “You’re a wimpy brat with his nose stuck in books all day.”_

_“I was thinking if I was your apprentice, you could take me with you.” We glanced longingly into the tiny window across the room, a heaviness in our chest. “Out there, into the real world. I could be of service to you if you would just give me a—”_

_Father was on his feet before we could finish, the back of his hand flying through the air like the metal buckle of his belt sometimes did. It cracked against our cheek and we were ejected from our chair, sprawling out onto the floor on our hands and knees. He grabbed a fistful of our hair and tugged us up so we were forced to look up into his hideous face as fresh blood dripped down our chin._

_“It appears you’ve forgotten what we’ve discussed about leaving the tower.” Father’s nostrils flared with rage and he threw a kick to our stomach, holding us in place by our overgrown hair. “Maybe a little pain will spark your memory.”_

_We trembled and grasped at the hem of his long, black coat. “Please, Father, I just wanted to help—”_

_His fist kissed our nose with the sharp snap of bones breaking and he released our hair, letting us collapse on the floor at his muddy boots. We groaned in pain, still sore from the last beating, and struggled to prop ourselves up on our forearms. Father walked away for a minute, and when he returned, our mouth fell open in terror at the fire poker in his right hand. The tip of it was glowing red with heat, matching the color of his ruthless eyes._

_“No! Father!’ We cried out, not bothering to scuttle backwards because we could never outrun him in this room. “Oh, gods, please! I am so sorry! I beg for your forgiveness! I will never ask to leave again! I promise! Please!”_

_The scorching tip of the poker stabbed into our thigh and we screamed at the top of our lungs. We flopped around like a fish out of water in a desperate attempt to escape the torture, wailing in pure agony. It seared straight through our pantleg and scalded our skin, producing a revolting stench of burning flesh that permeated the tower. When the poker left our thigh and we tried crawling away on our stomach, it stabbed into our lower back. We writhed uncontrollably, no longer aware of the screams of suffering and high-pitched caterwauls leaving our drooling, bloody mouth. Our sun-deprived pale skin was charred, roasting on our spine. We were blazing and broiling and blistering, awake for every second._

_We almost didn’t notice when the poker abandoned the sizzling crater in our lower back. Going limp on the floorboards, we fazed in and out of consciousness._

_“I will indulge your request to learn sorcery.” Father’s voice was muffled, as if he were somewhere faraway. “I will bring by some books tomorrow. You will be expected to brew me potions to sell to the commoners. I could use the spare coins for better booze and more experienced whores.”_

_We didn’t have the capacity to feel joy in our groggy, stunned state._

_“Consider your first batch to be healing potions.”_

This memory, like the first, faded into a blur of colors and a new series of recollections unfolded.

_Our power had awakened._

_It had been over two years since Father had begun his poor attempts at teaching us sorcery. We mostly learned from old, torn-up books he brought us, which we eagerly devoured word for word. As expected, we brewed him potions to pay for his vices and he would occasionally teach us a new trick. Father revealed that he was renowned for his ability to shapeshift into a huge owl, earning him the title of Owl Sorcerer, and gifted us a few lessons on the basics. So far, we managed to sprout feathers on our arms and shoulders._

_Despite Father’s claims that we were a witless weakling, our magic was improving exponentially and we no longer required his half-assed guidance. We were performing spells without incantations — something most sorcerers could never achieve after years of practice, according to the books. Whenever we demonstrated our power to Father in hopes we would earn his approval, we were rewarded with beatings for trying to outshine him._

_Tonight, instead of attempting to impress him, we had worked up the courage to ask him a question we had stopped asking a long, long time ago._

_“What happened to Mother?” We blurted out as he examined the basket of potions we had brewed over the last days._

_Father laughed dryly, picking up a vial to examine it closer with squinted, scarlet eyes. “How many times must I repeat it? She was a stupid slut who gave you up. The end.”_

_“I don’t believe you.” We blinked back tears, determined to stay strong this time._

_He smashed the vial in his fist, glass shattering as a mixture of blood and liquid drizzled onto the floor. “What does it matter? She doesn’t love you.”_

_“I want to meet her.”_

_“And leave this tower? No fucking way.” Father huffed, picking glass out of his hand without so much as flinching. “She doesn’t want to see you. You’d disappoint her, anyways. No mother wants to find out her son is a world-class wusspuss.”_

_We clenched our teeth. “I want to know who she is and where she is.”_

_“Yeah?” He sneered, stomping up to us and glaring down at us. “I want a lot of things too. I don’t know what delusional ideas you’ve gained from those godforsaken books, but in the real world, you don’t get what you want. Happy endings don’t exist. Grow the fuck up.”_

_“Tell me, you bastard!” We shouted, tears running down our cheeks as we slammed our hands into his chest in a shove. “What happened to my mother?”_

_Father took a step back, but didn’t retaliate. Seeming to undergo a suspicious change of heart, his expression turned wicked. “She has another son. This one is actually legitimate. He is her pride and joy, the perfect child — everything you’ll never be. Because the fact of the matter is, you’re a fucking mistake, the unwanted aftermath of an affair. Your mother is married to my brother, but I desired her once upon a time. A paralysis potion was all too easy to slip into her wine that evening, when I fucked her precious cunt as she lie helplessly on a table until she passed out. She was too ashamed to tell anyone of her misfortune, as predicted. She ended up pregnant and when you were born, your eyes were a telltale sign you were from my loins so they declared you stillborn to protect the family’s honor. I hid you here to keep my brother from taking an axe to your pathetic neck, which I sorely regret now.”_

_The tears just kept rolling and our fists shook at our sides._

_“The truth hurts, doesn’t it? Still want to see that whorish mother of yours?” A sick look of amusement was plastered on his face. “By all means, you just have to break into a castle. No biggie, really. I’ll even help you.”_

_We couldn’t find the words to ask, but our question was evident on our face._

_“Oh, I didn’t mention she and my brother are the rulers of this kingdom? My mistake.” He chuckled, a smirk playing on his lips. “I, of course, am the resident castle sorcerer. A fitting position, since I am the most powerful sorcerer alive. I know the ins and outs of that fortress. If meeting her is your wish, I will gladly escort you inside.”_

_Something was wrong here._

_We didn’t trust him. He was being too nice, too compliant. Any other time, he would’ve punished us for talking back to him with attitude. And he would never willingly let us out of the tower unless he was plotting something nasty. Nevertheless, what if this was our chance to meet Mother? What if he was telling the truth about her queenship? We would never be able to break into a castle on our own, judging from our limited knowledge of the world. This could be our only opportunity to speak with her — and potentially escape him._

_“Alright,” we croaked in agreement._

_“We leave tomorrow at sundown.”_

Everything blurred, and a different scene unveiled before me.

_We were walking down a stone hallway lit by a row of torches and decorated with exquisite tapestries. Almost every tapestry had a swan woven into it, as did the royal family crest hanging above some of the doors and on the flags flying outside the castle entrance. We speculated that the swan must have been the symbolic animal of this kingdom._

_Father halted in front of two colossal double-doors with artistic molding decorating the deep mahogany wood. He gestured a hand towards the doors. “The queen enjoys reading to wind down after her busy days. I have other business to attend to. Goodbye, Audwin.”_

_We watched as Father sauntered off in a flourish of his black trenchcoat, an ill feeling settling in our stomach. He seldom spoke our name, and the way he said “goodbye” sounded almost final. Was this a trap? If Father wanted to kill us, wouldn’t he have just done so at our tower? Why bring us all the way here?_

_Pushing open those grand doors was the toughest decision we had ever made._

_She was devastatingly beautiful, far more delicate and lovely than we had imagined countless times on nights we struggled to sleep. Mother was seated at a round table in the center of the library, her fair face partially hidden behind the leatherbound book in her dainty hands. She was dressed in a simple sapphire dress with a brown corset, her dark chocolate tresses cascading over her arms and back. A little younger than Father, perhaps in her late thirties, though we didn’t excel at identifying ages yet given our very limited experience with people. When she looked up to see who had entered the room, her freckled face shifted from serene to astonished._

_“Audwin,” she whispered with tears swimming in her eyes that resembled two glistening sapphires. Our own eyes were magenta, the precise shade between her blue and Father’s red._

_“Mother!” We ran forward towards the table without further hesitation._

_She let the book fall onto the table as she darted from her seat to meet us halfway. When her arms surrounded us in a warm embrace, we started bawling uncontrollably into her shoulder and squeezed her tightly back. She wept heavily, her soaking face pressing into our messy hair. We wished we hadn’t waited fourteen years to feel her maternal touch._

_“I thought I would never see you again,” she said between sobs._

_“I’ve missed you so much,” we croaked. Was it possible to miss someone one has never met? It certainly seemed that way._

_“Oh, honey. I’ve missed you more than you could ever imagine. Where on earth have you been all these years?” She peeled back from the embrace, holding our cheeks in her hands and wiping away our tears with her thumbs. “My husband has banned your name from these walls and I’ve never been able to get a word out of your father.”_

_We felt a surge of anger and our bottom lip quivered. “Father locked me in a tower in the middle of the woods. He is a terrible man! Please let me stay here with you!”_

_A tormented expression came over her petite features. “My husband would have your head if you were to stay. By the gods, I am so, so sorry things ended up this way. I never wanted this for you, never wanted them to take you away from me. I love you with all my heart, Audwin, and because of that, I must ask you to run. You need to get out this castle now and go somewhere far, far away from here. Leave this kingdom behind and make something of yourself.”_

_“But I just met you!” We choked on a tormented half-sob._

_“Hurry, before it’s too late. Does your father know you’re here?” Mother was beginning to look panicked, her hands gripping onto our shoulders as her eyes widened._

_As if to answer her question, the resonating thumps of guards marching down the hallway came into earshot. There was nowhere to run and even if we tried to hide, a sinking part of us knew Father would eventually discover us. We braced ourselves for the inevitable demise that awaited our cursed existence. It was always bound to end this way._

_“Forgive me, for failing you as your mother.” She let her arms fall back to her sides, a sad smile on her rosy pink lips. “It appears fate is not on either of our sides today.”_

_Two middle-aged men, a late-teenage boy, and a platoon of guards burst into the library. The guards wasted no time in briskly surrounding us and Mother, their swords already drawn and their faces as cold as their shiny armor. One of the men wore a golden crown with a swan carved into the front of it, complimenting his golden-ivory robes. The other man beside him, Father, was identical in both height and face to the king, aside from his hair being black instead of brown and those hellish scarlet irises of his. They must have been twins, which would explain our own uncanny resemblance to the older boy standing behind both men. Our lucky half-brother, the chosen son, the crown prince we never had the chance to be. We despised him already, scowling at his pristine golden-ivory uniform in comparison to our hole-ridden, dirty white tunic and thread-barren, faded tan trousers. The bastard even had shoes on his disgustingly clean feet._

_Then we glowered at Father, resisting the urge to vomit at the salt of his betrayal. Our scowl was interrupted by two guards seizing our arms, whom of which tried to force us to our knees. We writhed and spat a slew of curses, resisting the display of weakness even at the threat of swords pointed dangerously close to us._

_“Release him at once!” Mother pleaded earnestly, looking to the king. “How dare you? That boy is my son!”_

_“Break his knees.” The king ordered._

_We shut our eyes, unable to watch as another guard approached our struggling form and began hammering our left knee with the hard edge of his hilt. Our sharp cries and pitiful yelps mixed with the sickening cracking sounds made with each collision. Sobs turned to screams when something caved in our knee and kept breaking apart until we were sagging to the floor, only held up by our arms._

_“He’s down! Stop this! He’s bowed! Please!” Mother tried._

_It didn’t stop. Our body jolted with every fracture our other knee endured as it was brutally cleaved apart by the relentless strikes of the metal hilt. By the time the torture ended, we were almost unconscious, dangling limply by our armpits with our head bowed low towards the floor. We fought for alertness, our knees pulsing and throbbing with a new kind of agony that made our neck roll left and right as groans passed through our slack jaw._

_“Please, spare him!” Mother continued. “Aldous, this is your brother! Talk some sense into your father! Help him! I beg you!”_

_No words came from the prince._

_“Brother, since this problem was a result of your liaison, you can remedy it.” The king spoke apathetically._

_The sound of a blade unsheathing sliced through the hushed library. We braced ourselves for the end, our muscles tightening in anticipation and our eyes squeezing shut. When we heard the slickness of metal piercing flesh, we waited for the pain. But it never came. Instead, something hard thumped onto the floor. We strained to lift our head and open our eyes, met with the horror that confirmed what our gut already suspected._

_Mother was lying on the floor in front of us, face-down and arms splayed. The bloody point of a dagger protruded from between her bony shoulderblades, its blade certainly skewering her heart. She had paid the highest price to save us: her own life._

_No, she hadn’t saved us, we realized with an unexpected boost of willpower. She had bought us time to save ourselves. We wouldn’t allow her to die in vain._

_We lifted our eyes to Father in a silent challenge, a cold rage running thick and icy through our veins. His hand was still outstretched in front of him from when he threw the dagger, frozen by his visible shock at having killed Mother instead. Glaring into his scarlet eyes reminded us of his magic, and by extension, everything he had relayed to us._

_The Owl Sorcerer’s prized skill was his ability to transform his body._

_Damn, how did we not think of this before? We laughed hysterically, shaking our head as we let our anguish fuel the magic that sprouted black feathers from our shoulders to our wrists. If we couldn’t walk anymore, then we would fly. Massive owl wings extended out along the length of our arms, frightening the guards into releasing us and scattering back._

_“Cowards! Kill him!” The king howled._

_Everything following his command was a blur of feathers, screams, blood, swords, and armored bodies. Not even Father was able to stop the massacre in that library, and soon his repulsive head was decapitated and hanging from our fist by his greasy hair as we hovered a few feet in the air. We hadn’t realized we had ended the king as well in our fury until we spotted his crown in a pool of blood amid the carpet of corpses laid over the tile._

_The only living person left was our brother. He stood in the same spot we had last seen him, motionless with a mask of terror glued to his face. His brown eyes clashed with ours, the same irises as the ruthless king. He may not have slaughtered Mother deliberately, but he had done nothing to stop the madness that resulted in her sacrifice._

_We tossed Father’s head onto the floor, letting it roll over to Aldous’ feet. That’s the name Mother had called him, we remembered. Beating our great wings to remain levitating, we broke the quiet lingering between us and Aldous. “If it isn’t the golden prince himself. Tell me, are you enjoying the luxuries you’ve stolen from me?”_

_Without Father, we felt free, unchained, empowered. Confidence laced our mocking words, our ego boosted by the evidence of our might lying around us. We felt damn near invincible at full capacity. Never again would a soul dare to insult us, restrain us, abuse us._

_“I’ve stolen nothing.” His voice trembled with fear. “You, on the other hand, have stolen many lives. As the only surviving member of the royal family, it falls upon me to charge you with treason and hereby sentence you to death.”_

_We smirked, dramatically looking all around the bloodied library. “Oh, and who do you suppose is going to kill me? I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but we’re the only ones here and something tells me you don’t have the balls to fight me yourself, pretty boy.”_

_His adam’s apple bobbed. He took a nervous step back, ready to flee._

_We waved our hand at the library doors, which slammed shut with a thunderous boom. A palpable amount of magical power still surged through us, raw energy tingling at our fingertips. “I thought so. If that’s all you have to say, I believe it’s time for your penalty.”_

_“I will give you anything.” Aldous was shaking profusely. “Anything you want! All the riches in the kingdom, the crown, name your price. Just don’t kill me.”_

_“Kill you?” We almost laughed. “I don’t want to kill you, dear brother. I want you to suffer as I did. I want you to know what it’s like to be completely isolated from the world, forced to watch others live their lives from a distance knowing you can never join them. I want you to hold onto the hope of attaining freedom and love someday, only to have that hope crushed over and over again by the cruelty of others.”_

_All the blood had drained from his face, leaving him open-mouthed in anticipation._

_“No, killing you would be letting you off too easy.” We lifted our hand, pouring all of our sorrow and hatred down our arm and watching it flow out in the form of dense magenta smoke. We caught sight of the swan embroidered into his jacket sleeve. “A swan prince, hm? Well, then that’s exactly what you will be.” The unnatural smoke consumed his body, coiling around his limbs and into his gaping mouth. “Removed from your castle and confined to a lake, swimming around and around in circles while people merrily pass on by during the day. And when night falls, you resume human form and search for a bride willing to marry a man cursed to be a swan by day. Because the only way to break this curse is for a woman to swear her sincere love for you by way of wedding vows, which of course, will never happen.” His smoky body began to shrink down, losing both height and width. “Alas, you will still try, as you will crave the freedom and companionship I once did. But unlike me, you will never break free from your curse.”_

_We lowered our hand, suddenly exhausted to the core and barely able to remain flying above the floor. The magenta smoke cleared, leaving behind a white swan that honked with grief at the loss of his body. Our mingling feelings of satisfaction and guilt were swiftly replaced with uneasiness when the doors to the library flung open, revealing an assembly of finely-dressed men and more guards._

_Trouble had arrived for us._

The massacre dissipated, replaced with the next memory.

_Exile wasn’t as glamorous as one might have imagined._

_Namely, trekking miles and miles through uncharted wilderness with absolutely nothing but the clothes on our back and a disgruntled swan for company was dreadfully boring. We were too drained of energy to conjure wings again, having used the remainder of our magical supply to mend our misshapen, shattered kneecaps. The duke and duchess, upon seizing control of the throne, had no desire to deal with the remains of the (old) royal family and promptly cast both of us out. The mutual grief we shared over the loss of Mother only lasted a day, leaving simmering hostility in its wake._

_If we had to endure one more beak-jab from Aldous, we were going to throttle his elongated neck and snap it like a twig._

_Over the course of the following weeks, we passed through several villages of little interest alongside our cursed brother and we had assumed our father’s title of Owl Sorcerer, which inspired enough fear in the commoners to grant us free food and shelter. Eventually, we stumbled upon a lake of swans in a calm forest located within the distant kingdom of Corynne. Aldous begrudgingly took up residence there and we figured we might as well stick relatively close to him so we could get some measure of satisfaction from his suffering. We rebuilt the tower a short distance from the lake; its familiarity provided us with the comfort of home and served as a reminder of our painful origins. Our vengeance was like an infection, except the longer it festered, the more powerful we became._

_A handful of uneventful years went by, until one afternoon we caught sight of a young lady skipping along the forest trail through the spying eyes of one of our pets—_

The memories abruptly cut off, ripping out of my skull. I jolted with a sudden start, fluttering my eyes as I regained my senses. My labored breath came in short, shaky bursts, causing my chest to rise and fall rapidly. I became aware of the tears streaming over my cheeks and rolling down my neck. 

Audwin leaned back from me, his fingers trembling as he retracted them from my head. His pale face was shining with tears and faint sobs shuddered in his chest as he seemingly tried to trap them inside. He moved to the edge of the bed and dangled his legs off the side, his back turned to me. A teary sniff sounded.

Part of me was absolutely terrified of the sorcerer crying mere inches away from me. He had savagely slaughtered an entire fleet of guardsmen, assassinated a king, and beheaded his own father with his bare hands. I realized Audwin had yet to use his magic to its full potential in front of me, and I prayed to the gods I would never witness the calamity it would surely cause. He wasn’t just some sorcerer — he was a fucking force of nature in itself.

Yet I knew the man across from me was relentlessly tormented by the demons of his past. He was hurting. His wounds cut deep. He wasn’t a heartless monster; he was traumatized from a lonely childhood of neglect and abuse. 

Most of all, he was still the same Audwin I had fallen for.

I crawled out of the bed and walked in front of where he sat, pushing open his thighs so I could stand between them. Delicately taking his face in my hands, I kissed him softly. His hands found my hips and pulled me against him as he kissed me deeper. Our tongues entwined in an equal dance, neither one dominant over the other. This kiss was different than the others, one of love rather than lust. 

Audwin broke the kiss and let out a sob, resting his face against my supple breasts. I slipped my fingers into his inky hair, brushing over his scalp as he cried into my chest. My mouth felt like it had been stuffed with cotton, preventing me from speaking. 

We stayed that way for a long while before he pulled me under the bedsheets and spooned me until I drifted off to sleep in his protective arms.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading!!! I hope you liked my version of their past!! To clarify any possible confusion, I wrote his memories in the plural “we” perspective because both past-Audwin and current-Signy were experiencing them. Also, I updated the tags and summary :P


	9. Crowned at Last

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Owl Sorcerer and Swan Prince join forces to save Queen Signy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so glad you guys liked Audwin’s backstory last chapter!! I apologize for such a long update wait. Trigger warnings for sadomasochistic undertones and mentions of suicide.

Tonight was the night.

I stood before my bathroom mirror, gazing at my reflection as Miss Roslin stood behind me and wove my soft blonde tresses into a neatly-braided bun. My fair face was unnaturally pale, dusted with traditional powder, and my full lips were painted strawberry-red. At the base of my neck, white lace stretched over my chest and down the lengths of my arms before giving way to luxurious white fabric that tautly hugged my curves to my hips. A mermaid-style skirt burst out at my upper thighs, layers and layers of fine tulle crowding my legs. Purity and grace emanated from me like an aura of virginity, though I knew (did everyone else know too?) that it was simply untrue. 

“Miss Roslin?” 

“Signy?” 

“Can I tell you a secret?” My heart was already racing. “If you promise not to tell anyone?”

Her fingers lowered from my hair and a concern crossed her face. “Of course.”

“I’m not marrying Aldous.” I lowered my head, breaking eye contact with her in the reflection to ramble nervously. “I’m in love with Audwin. He’s still alive. And it’s not some love spell, Miss Roslin, I promise. I love him and I know it’s wrong and I understand why you’re upset—”

“Oh, honey.” She shushed me, turning my around gently by my shoulders to look at me directly with a relaxed smile. “I’m not upset.”

“You’re not?” 

“I’ve raised you for nearly a decade, Signy — long enough to know when you speak from your heart. I sincerely apologize for choosing to believe Aldous before, I hope you understand that I was only worried for your safety. If you claim to love that sorcerer, then you have my blessing.” She smoothed out the lace on my shoulders, looking down to admire my gorgeous wedding dress. 

“Thank you.” Tears of gratitude flooded my eyes.

Miss Roslin pulled me into a firm embrace. Her next question was barely a whisper. “Does this sorcerer — Audwin — share your feelings?”

“I hope so.” My voice was muffled in her perfect curls of brown hair, a style she reserved for special occasions. 

Once Miss Roslin finished winding my braids, secured my gold tiara into the bun, and fiddled with the sheer veil at least a dozen times, she walked me out of my bedroom with my trembling hand grasped in hers. To both of our surprise, my real groom was already waiting for me in the hallway with an easy smirk on his face.

And by gods, was he breathtaking.

Clothed in midnight-black like night itself was warped around him, he was the precise opposite of my delicate, white form. Magenta embroidery detailed the jacket of his dark uniform in elegant swirls and fluid branches, the vibrant color matching the wide satin sash tied around the waistband of his skin-tight pants. His typical half-cape was extended into a full-cape of overlapping black feathers that trailed behind his heeled boots. His magnified beauty was an absolute showstopper — or rather, a weddingstopper.

“I will be waiting inside the temple.” Miss Roslin squeezed my hand and flashed me an encouraging smile before releasing me to scurry away.

When she had disappeared around a corner, I released a shaky sigh I hadn’t realized I had been holding in. Audwin approached me and placed his hands on my hips, his usual smirk softening to a small smile. I stood on the tip-toes of my flats to steal a kiss, but he leaned away before our lips could touch and he gave a breathy chuckle of amusement.

“You’ll get your kiss in five minutes, sweetheart.” His eyes indulged in another greedy once-over of my body. “Pretty dress, though the loveliness underneath doesn’t need lavish fabrics and lacey things.” 

His way of giving a compliment made my cheeks burn with a blush.

“I’ve been waiting to be crowned king for a long time, but I find myself anticipating our evening together more than my ascension to the throne. Rest assured that by the time I am able to whisk you away to our new bedroom, you won’t be sleeping until the sun rises.”

The heat in my face gushed lower, settling between my thighs. “And you rest assured that I will hold you to your promise.”

“I expect nothing less of my bride.” He held out his arm, tilting his head so his inky locks fell into his face. “Shall we?”

“We shall.” I smiled warmly, linking my arm with his.

As we emerged from the castle and crossed the grassy lawn to a limestone temple located on the royal property, massive torches crackled around us from where they staked the path to the wedding. It was the night of the summer solstice and the crescent moon shone brightly down on us from a clear sky of stars. It was oddly peaceful, but I anticipated it would be short-lived once my people realized they had been sorely deceived.

“Audwin?” I looked up at my groom as we slowed to a halt in front of the colossal, carved double-doors leading into the temple.

He met my gaze, his face serious, all traces of humor or cockiness gone.

“You look nice tonight… really nice. My prince.” My dark prince. My deliciously dark, sexy prince that I wanted on top of me as soon as possible.

And there it was, that smug smirk made its comeback. “ _Your_ prince?”

“My prince,” I repeated shyly.

The doors swung open at a casual wave of Audwin’s hand and the classical wedding march began playing from the organ. It was unconventional to have him walking me down the aisle, but I didn’t have a father anymore — or an uncle, for that matter. Besides, it gave Audwin an excuse to make the grand entrance he always strived to achieve. Showmanship was one of his pleasures, it seemed. 

I tried to maintain a neutral expression in spite of the dozens of astounded gasps and hushed whispers from the rows of seated nobility. The ancient temple was exquisitely decorated in white flowers, candelabras, and hanging silks. In the wavering candlelight, everything and everyone adopted a golden hue. I forced myself to glance over to the altar, where Aldous had visibly staggered, presumably — for a lack of a better phrase — _shitting his pants_. The high priestess behind the wood podium was unabashedly smiling under the lavender hood of her satin cloak, opening her thin booklet of vows and flipping to the correct page.

When Audwin and I reached the podium, Aldous was already retreating backwards with his hands clenched into tight fists. It was still strange to think he was Audwin’s older brother; the connection hadn’t fully registered with me yet.

The wedding march melody came to a conclusion, leaving the wedding guests in a tense silence. 

“It seems this temple has a vermin problem,” Audwin scoffed pointedly.

“The only vermin here is you.” Aldous was practically bristling with outrage.

I interrupted the banter. “Vermin or not, Aldous, you may take a seat or you may take your leave. It’s your decision.”

If the previous silence was tense, this silence was downright crippling. Aldous was giving me a look of undiluted betrayal, his mouth slightly ajar at my boldness. 

“I suggest you choose quickly. My groom is not a patient man.” I wasn’t using a rude tone, just factual and unyielding. 

Perhaps I had borrowed some confidence from Audwin — he had more than enough for one man, even if it only existed to mask his insecurities and trauma.

“You’re making a huge mistake,” Aldous murmured lowly under his breath, lowering his shaded eyes to the floor. With a final withering glare to Audwin, he traipsed over to an empty row reserved for my deceased family and slid into a bench with crossed arms.

“Welcome, friends.” The high priestess waved a tiny hand in greeting to the rows of nobility, her gentle smile contagious. “We are gathered here tonight to celebrate the extraordinary hand of fate that brought together these two souls. The gods have gifted us this beautiful pair, of whom we are delighted to pledge our unending loyalty to. May our lovely rulers receive a round of applause?”

Oddly enough, she didn’t sound mocking or otherwise disingenuous. Her calming words eased the hostility evident in the body language of the nobility, though they did nothing to erase the malice corrupting Aldous’ normally kind features. Everyone in the candlelit temple except for Audwin, Aldous, the high priestess, and I clapped loudly in assumably feigned support for a solid ten seconds. 

When the noise died away, Audwin procured a silver ring from the inner pocket of his embroidered jacket and slid it onto my special finger. I stared at it in astonishment, tilting the glimmering yellow diamond side to side. How had I forgotten about rings? Had Aldous even remembered in all the chaos? I felt a flood of guilt from not being able to present Audwin with a ring of his own.

“Audwin Kerrigan.” How did the high priestess know his name? I felt yet another pang of shame upon not knowing his surname. “Do you vow to love Signy Asterya unconditionally and faithfully in this life as well as the next?”

“I do,” he replied without sarcasm.

“Signy Asterya, do you vow to love Audwin Kerrigan unconditionally and faithfully in this life as well as the next?” The high priestess turned her attention to me, her storm-gray irises gazing into my very being from under her lavender cloak.

Aldous suddenly launched to his feet. “Signy—”

“Dare you speak so rudely in a temple of the great gods, in defiance of this sacred union?” The high priestess interrupted crisply, her challenging question piercing the air like an arrow.

Audwin turned his face to the side an attempt to hide his sudden smirk and snort of derision from the rows of onlookers. He found this funny? I found this situation rather dire!

“High Priestess, I assure you that is not my intention.” Aldous struggled to compose himself. “I object to this marria—”

“ _Chief Minister,_ I assure you would not object to the wish of your crown princess of whom you have sworn loyalty to?” The high priestess smiled again, although this time it lacked sincerity and was simply viperine. 

Aldous was in a bind. If Audwin didn’t strike him dead where he stood, I paled to think of what the high priestess would do to him. Priestesses were versed in strange magic, aided by their spiritual relations with the divine, and perhaps more unpredictable than sorcerers. Without another word, he took his seat once more.

All eyes settled on me.

“I do.” I stepped up to Audwin and craned my neck to meet his magenta stare.

“By the power vested in me, I declare you husband and wife.” The high priestess set her mini booklet on the podium and clasped her hands together. “You may now share the first kiss of union.”

Audwin kissed me deeply, and I shamelessly wound my arms around his neck, and I couldn’t have cared less if the nobles were scorning my improper behavior.

* * *

Following the extravagant coronation ceremony in the throne room, during which Audwin and I were officially crowned Corynne’s king and queen, as well as a lavish feast in the formal dining hall, I ended up dancing in the ballroom with my husband (gods, it felt peculiar to call him that) amid a swaying sea of glitzy gowns and finely-tailored uniforms. After stuffing ourselves with rich food, we changed out of our wedding attire into more… _provocative_ garments.

I was clothed in something that only be compared to liquid gold. The metallic fabric tightly clung to my skin, starting at my breasts and ending at my ankles, held up by two thin threads of gold over my shoulders. Impressively immodest; I had a socially-acceptable gown prepared, but Audwin had personally bought (made?) this for me and I had no dignity left to spare. To match my yellow diamond ring, I was the lucky wearer of a priceless, glittering necklace of yellow diamonds.

In contrast to my sunshine-iness, Audwin carried a lethal grace around him that radiated power, ego, sensuality. Instead of a cape, his sleeved lace-up tunic was layered in magenta-tipped black feathers and his usual pants sported a studded belt with a dagger sheathed at his thigh. Atop his head of inky locks, a once-gold crown had been transformed into a ring of tall black spikes embedded with jagged magenta crystals. A fitting symbol of his chilling rule-by-fear philosophy.

“I remember the first night we met, when we danced,” Audwin mused as he twirled me out and against him again. 

I recalled the beautiful painting he gifted to me months ago of that night. It must’ve been a cherished memory of his. My own memory failed me, faded out by all of the anxiety and adrenaline of the evening. I smiled, but couldn’t find the words to respond to him. Something had been weighing on my mind since our vows.

Seeming to sense this, he leaned his head in closer to keep our conversation private from the dancing couples. “What is it?”

I hesitated, unsure if I should ask him. 

“Tell me,” he insisted gravely, though not without kindness.

“The high priestess…” My cheeks were already flaming, and I lowered my eyes to the golden tile beneath us. “She knew you.”

It was Audwin’s turn to hesitate. Seeming to carefully select his words, he kept his voice flat. “We’re acquaintances.”

“Did you sleep with her?” I lifted my gaze back to his.

His face twisted with clear distaste, no longer masking his irritation. “Must we discuss this on our wedding night?”

I stumbled over his feet at his harsh tone, tipping backwards. His strong arm swiftly curved around my back, guiding me back to stability, though his expression remained inflamed. I ventured closer to his chest than what was considered proper, resting my chin on his bony shoulder. The romantic mood was not only killed, but unmistakably rotten. I shouldn’t have asked him. Not tonight, at least.

“I did.” His words came unexpectedly, interrupting minutes of silent dancing.

“What?” I was too disheartened to lift my head.

“I slept with her.” A pause. “But it was a long time ago. I used to borrow her books on advanced sorcery. Our paths seldom cross anymore.”

I turned my face into his neck. “It was wrong of me to ask. I’m sorry, Audwin, truly.”

“I _might_ consider forgiving you,” his lips pressed against my ear, “if you’ll sneak off to bed with me.”

“Now?” My question came as a squeak.

“I’ve waited long enough.” His reply came as a hiss.

And just like that, we were gone. Upon us entering our new shared room, dozens of candles flickered to life with tiny magenta flames. I had never seen the royal chamber before, as it was the private sanctuary of the king and queen, and I found it to be exquisitely decorated in antiques and treasures. I didn’t have much time to admire them before I was suddenly lifted up by the waist and thrown wickedly onto the oversized bed.

Audwin lunged on top of me, pining me down with one hand around my neck and another on my waist as he smothered me with a needy kiss. I melted underneath his unrivaled touch, burying my fingers in his soft hair and tugging... hard. He groaned deeply, grinding his pelvis into mine at the welcomed twinge of pain. His pale skin, usually on the colder temperature spectrum, was flaming with desire where it touched mine. Our tongues fought in a brutal war for dominance, which I was all-t0o-eager to lose to him. When his hand slid up my side to my breast, I let out a moan against his mouth at the pinching fingers stimulating me through my dress.

“I behaved all night,” Audwin mumbled breathlessly after he disconnected from my lips to pepper wet kisses down my neck. “I’m done restraining myself.”

“Don’t try to,” I whined when he sucked violently on my exposed shoulder. Directly over where he had given me that bitemark during our first time, I noticed.

When he lifted his head, his magenta irises were glowing brighter than I had ever seen under half-closed lids and his flushed lips were parted from uneven pants. It was an animalistic look, starved and crazed, that made my body scream with lust, my mind with fear, and my heart with exhilaration. His fingers tightened around my neck, bruisingly squeezing my windpipe so I could only draw in faint breaths.

“You shouldn’t have said that.” He shook his head before unexpectedly letting my neck free to lean back on his knees.

He unsheathed the dagger from his studded belt and slipped it under the fabric bunched at my breasts. After stabbing a hole in the dress and tossing the dagger carelessly to the side of us, he used both hands to tear open the hole down my middle with the distinct sound of ripping fabric. With hardly any effort, my beautiful dress was fully pulled open and unceremoniously ripped away from my body as if it was a disgrace. He hastily picked up the dagger to cut off my panties and strapless bralette, adding them to the pile of shredded fabric on the floor.

A breathy noise similar to a moan shuddering his chest, he drank in the sight of my body as if it was the first time he was seeing it. His hands roamed my skin, from my shoulders to my abdomen and then to my thighs. In a blur of urgency, he yanked off his clothes and hurled them onto the floor with the rest. Before I could admire his sculpted body, his hands were pulling my unstyled hair up so I was in a sitting position and his erection was dangerously close to my lips. His gaze captured mine in an unspoken question, and I yielded to his want with a brisk nod.

He entered my mouth without hesitance, filling the wet cavern until he hit the back of my throat and I gagged on his length. I clutched his hips with digging fingernails to support myself as he began thrusting deeper into my tight throat. My stomach churned in response to my triggered gag reflux, but I fought the nausea to continue taking the unrestricted hammering to my skull. I noticed my own eyes rolling back, the tender soreness of my straining jaw mixing with the pleasant warmth quite literally pooling between my thighs. His moans of delight spurred me on as his fingers knotted in my ruined hair.

“Fuck — Signy,” he cursed as he abruptly left my mouth empty.

I stayed still below him, stunned, still open-mouthed with drool spilling out down my chin. When I looked up at his face, he grabbed my cheeks with both hands and used his thumbs to swipe away the tears I hadn’t realized I’d shed. A sadistic smirk spread across his lips, accompanied by a sultry chuckle. His pleasure at my discomfort shot straight to my core, pulsing in my walls, aching for him.

_Whore,_ my own mind scolded.

“Beautiful,” he praised in contrast.

I whimpered, lifting my hands to pull his face down to mine. We kissed again, sloppy and uncoordinated from our inflated desperation. I teasingly pushed his tongue away with mine, for which I was punished with a bite to my bottom lip that caused blood to spring up. He sucked thirstily on the split punctures and I moaned loudly from the blending pain-pleasure. Two fingers slipped into my core, swiftly followed by a third, ruthlessly stretching me out with sharp snaps of his wrist.

“Mine,” he whispered when he broke away to suck on my breasts next.

“All yours,” I gasped, knowing it would gratify him.

His entire body shivered in response, upper back muscles flexing powerfully as he pulled his fingers out of my throbbing center. He shifted back from me to position himself between my legs, roughly pushing open my thighs. I grabbed fistfuls of sheets in preparation for the merciless pounding I was sure to receive.

“Scream for me,” he said before slamming into me in one stroke that filled me to the brim. My mouth fell open in a cry, my back arching off the bed. “Let every fucking fool in this castle know who you belong to now.”

I let my screams of pleasure loose, praying Aldous wasn’t close enough to hear.

****

Audwin’s POV

****

**  
**

Weeks had whirled by since my night of victory.

Weeks, of which, I had not gotten a moment’s rest between fulfilling my duties as the king of Corynne and my duties as Signy’s husband. It was a juggling act — the sort where the performer juggles fire — but I had never bowed my head in defeat before a challenge. The only two things I would ever bow my head for were my crown and Signy’s kiss, no order in particular. Regardless of my struggle to maintain balance, I had made an irrevocable commitment to this new life and I was determined to push through.

Continuously pushing through, however, was becoming a metaphorical weight on my shoulders and physically evident in the deep shadows under my eyes. It was a blow to my ego, a reminder that I wasn’t all-powerful and I still had weakness. I needed rest, _desperately_ , and I hadn’t had a chance to practice spellwork nor replenish my supply of potions. Alas, Signy and this kingdom were my priority.

I paused in the hallway. On the topic of Signy, I hadn’t seen her all night. Given Aldous’ curse I had no intentions of lifting, we were operating on a nocturnal schedule because he had no intentions of relinquishing his position as chief minister either. I had left our bed early tonight to get a head start on my duties, but that was hours ago. Unease settled into my aching bones.

Aldous approached me, his expression uncharacteristically stony. “Your Majesty, is the Queen still in her chamber?”

“I presume so.” I stated, eyeing his behavior with gnawing suspicion.

Silence befell us. His tension was clear in his furrowed eyebrows, clenched jaw, bobbing Adam’s apple, and rigid shoulders. He knew something.

“Spit it out,” I warned seriously. What little energy I had was swirling around my white-knuckled fists in glittering wisps of magenta and black.

He hesitated, taking a wary step back. “This is not the time to have an altercation with you. Keep that magic handy — we need to get to Signy. _Now_.”

What started out as a fast-paced walk evolved into a mad dash through the castle corridors, though I became winded rather quickly and I was on the brink of passing out by the time we arrived at the double-doors to my chamber. I staggered into the bedroom, my knees hitting the carpet beside the bed as I seized Signy’s limp wrist. Locating her pulse, I discovered it to be alarmingly weak and abnormally slow. Fading. Almost gone. Almost… I couldn’t finish the thought.

“Signy, Signy wake up.” Aldous stood to the left of where I was knelt and rapidly shook my wife’s shoulders. “Wake up!”

I swallowed hard, dread and nausea cementing me to the floor. It was as if the world was slowly crumbling in around me, and my vision literally blackening around the edges. Aldous’ commands to Signy became distant, echoey, as if he were on the other side of a vacant tunnel.

Aldous slammed onto his knees at my side, his shoulders sinking inward. He refused to look at me. “It’s poison… you have to save her. If you care about her in the slightest, please… please heal her. I beg you.”

“I can’t.” My own voice was barely audible, a dying murmur lost to the ringing in my ears.

“No,” he croaked, his own voice defeated. “There must be something. A spell, a potion, _something._ If you survived a sword to the stomach, you must be able to counteract poison.”

My arm dropped to my side, her wrist slipping from my grasp. He still didn’t know Signy was the one who resurrected me. She was so strong. _I’m weak,_ I yearned to tell him. Yet, those words would never leave my mouth. Not ever.

“Don’t just sit there and let her die!” Aldous threw a punch to my arm, turning furious. “I already watched Mother die! I am not watching her die too!”

Tears stung my eyes, but I blinked them back. Mother would be so disappointed in us. I imagined her spirit giving me the same sad smile she gave me before she sacrificed herself for me. My heart, something I had long believed did not exist, was breaking apart.

“I love her,” I whispered, staring at my open palms in my lap.

“Then save her, for gods sake!” Aldous was fuming, his face red and his hands beating against my chest and shoulders in an attempt to spur me, like a horse being jarred into action. He beat and beat, until he collapsed against me and sobbed.

We stayed there for a long time, silent tears running down my blank face while violent sobs wracking Aldous. Sometime, my arms had ended up around my brother, holding him to me before I resumed my sudden occupation as a stone statue. He clutched onto my stiff body tightly, screaming out profanities as he rocked back and forth. Guards knocked on the door and yelled concerned inquiries on several occasions, but ultimately left when neither of us bothered to answer.

“Aldous?” My lips moved on their own accord.

“What?” His reply was seething, the angriest I had ever seen him. His calm temperament was shattered, replaced with that of a rabid beast.

“How did you know Signy was poisoned?”

More silence. I couldn’t comprehend if Aldous was hesitating, or if time had slowed down around us. 

“It was an accident.” The rage left his body in a heavy exhale of air, leaving him crestfallen and… guilty. “It was meant for you.”

I couldn’t find the will to snap his neck, let alone push him off of me. Instead, I continued to sit there on my knees, staring at what little I could see of Signy’s comatose body. Something inside me had snapped, leaving me empty. So empty.

“I have been slipping small doses into your wine since the wedding.” They sounded like final words. Perhaps he anticipated his death. “Continued exposure would eventually lead to your death. One dose isn’t lethal for someone like you, but for a human…” A pause. “I may have mixed up your glasses.”

“How the fuck do you mistake which wine glass has poison?” What little piece of my soul remained couldn’t help but fling snark at him. “Are you a fucking idiot?”

“You know I am,” he replied with something resembling self-deprecatory humor. “I shouldn’t have interfered. I didn’t think you were capable of love. I’m sorry, brother. All I ask for is a swift death.”

I glared repulsively at him as if he were a maggot squirming in my food as he clambered away from me. “You murder my wife and have the audacity to plead for mercy?”

“She’s not dead yet!” Aldous pulled himself to his feet and leaned over, presumably to check the pulse on her neck. When he leaned back to glower down at me, he crossed his arms over his chest. “She still has hours left, I’d say. Plenty of time to figure something out.”

As much as it pained me to admit it to myself, he was correct. When Signy thought I was dying, she didn’t waste time moping helplessly and throwing a pity party. She fought for me, impossibly broke a spell and manipulated its magic to save me. I was clever (unlike my brother) and I would think of a way out of this. 

After struggling to my feet with a tired grunt, I pulled at my bottom lip in contemplation and paced the chamber. Aldous was sitting on the bed now, stroking Signy’s cheek, and I allowed it in the direness of our situation. I was far too weak, from poison come to find, to cast a spell of this magnitude, leaving me with only one other option: potions. My store of health potions was nonexistent, and all of my brewing supplies had not been transferred from my tower. 

Mere hours left? Even if I had the strength to shift into an owl, I could never travel to my tower, locate a recipe, gather wild ingredients, brew, and come back to the castle in time to save her. This left me with one other option, and it was almost unthinkable.

“I have an idea.” I ran my fingers through my black hair, a shaky sigh leaving my chest sagging. “I would need… an assistant.” I couldn’t bring myself to say help.

“Don’t explain, just tell me what to do and I’ll do it.” Aldous stood from the bed, his face a mask of severity.

I smirked. “I fancy this new attitude of yours, dear brother.”

“Savor it while you can.”

* * *

The sunrise cast the morning sky in pastel hues of yellow, orange, and pink as Aldous and I emerged from the forest towards the castle. Two bluish-green potions sloshed in their vials as I carried them both in one hand, clenched tightly so my sweat didn’t become too slippery. It was July, the peak of summer, and the hot temperatures made themselves known in the wet patches on our clothes and the glistening drops rolling down our faces. My legs were almost leaden.

As the sun peeked its top over the rolling hills and cast its golden rays over the land, Aldous shifted back into a swan. He gave a disapproving honk, and I tossed an only half-teasing kick in his direction. His grand wings ruffled in exasperation. The castle was unusually quiet when we entered and judging from the mournful expressions on the staff, rumors had spread overnight like wildfire.

With each step towards our bedroom, the possibility of us being too late drifted closer to reality. My imagination conjured an image of her corpse, followed by several flashes of my subsequent death, each displaying a unique way I could end my own life. Indeed, I could overcome the loss of Signy. I could continue ruling Corynne or pass the crown to Aldous so I could return to my tower in isolation. At what cost? Unending guilt, misery, loneliness? My demons would consume me until there was nothing left of the human I was now, until only a sorcerer with a black soul remained.

My hand lingered on one of the handles to the double-doors. Aldous honked impatiently, or perhaps anxiously, and I thrust open the doors. I plopped on the edge of the bed and barely registered Signy’s chest rising and falling faintly before I yanked open her jaw to gently tip one of the potions down her throat. I tilted it back away, allowing the first drops soak into her system.

Aldous flew onto the bed in a flurry of white feathers, honking softly and resting his small head against her arm. Something fiery in me prompted me to place my free hand on her other arm. I wanted her to wake up to my touch, not my damned brother’s.

“Audwin,” passed through her lips as her eyes slowly blinked open.

“Swallow this.” I pushed the vial against her parted lips, tilting it over again.

She obeyed, shifting to prop herself up against the headboard. When the vial was emptied, her mental haze cleared and rosy warmth returned to her pale, sweaty skin. I leaned close to give her a long kiss, tasting the sour potion on her tongue and running my fingers down her side. When I pulled back, Aldous hopped into her lap and she cuddled him with a lighthearted giggle. She had no idea what transpired.

I watched her play with Aldous for a minute, ensuring she was recovering without delay. Once I was convinced she didn’t need more, I uncorked the second vial and drank it for myself. The potion, albeit more bitter on my tongue, heated my stomach and melted away the crippling fatigue in my muscles. 

“Say, what was in those potions?” Signy asked with a smile, stroking Aldous’ feathers. “Did we catch a fever?”

Aldous craned his long neck to face me and I met his stare. A silent agreement passed between us, a mutual decision.

“We did.” I smiled as genuinely as I could manage, though I imagined it still resembled a smug smirk. “Aldous identified the illness before I did. He saved us.”

It was partially true. Had Aldous not been a major pain in my ass, I probably wouldn’t have gotten back on my feet to take action. He also gathered the wild ingredients I didn’t have stored while I prepared to brew the potions. Granted, it was entirely his fault we ended up in this fucking situation to begin with.

“In that case, a proper thank you is in order!” Signy beamed, giving Aldous a beautiful expression of happiness and innocence. Even if she was a queen, she would always be my princess. “How about we celebrate with a trip to Swan Lake?”

I watched them with conflict, coming to terms with Signy’s pure friendship with my brother. In spite of my loathing of him, he wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon and Signy did care for him. I knew what I needed to do, even if it wasn’t what I wanted. “Actually, I have a better idea.”

The both of them turned their full attention to me as I extended my hands out from where I sat with them on the bed, palms facing the ceiling. A brilliant magenta light radiated off Aldous as he leapt off the bed and fluttered down to the center of the bedroom. The light morphed into bands of smoke that swirled away from him, snaking their way back to my open hands. As the magic sucked back into my palms, the light died away to reveal Aldous standing in his human form.

“Whoa,” my brother breathed in astonishment.

I rolled my neck and shoulders, cracking them from the exertion of revoking the hefty curse. Casually as ever, I peeked over at Signy to catch her reaction. She looked as astonished as Aldous, her pupils blown wide and her mouth ajar. I chuckled darkly, the thought of what I’d like to put in that lovely mouth of hers coming to mind. Perhaps once we were alone; I needed the stress relief after my long night.

“I’m free,” he whispered. “You freed me.”

“I did.” I flopped nonchalantly on the mattress beside Signy, moving both hands behind my head to support myself. It felt like a divine gift to finally rest. “You are welcome to do as you wish.” 

“You’re still going to be our chief minister, right?” My wife asked desperately, leaning forward. “You’re not going to leave, are you?”

I bit my tongue, focusing on my breath as to not snap. If she wanted him to remain our primary advisor despite no longer being tied down by a curse, then I would reluctantly permit it. She was, after all, my queen and my wife as much as I was her king and her husband. It was my obligation to support her wishes, regardless of my thirst for control and possession in all realms of life.

“I’ll stay, with His Majesty’s approval.” Aldous, having experienced a similar maturation overnight, looked to me.

“Signy approves. That’s enough for me.” _Oh, the things I do for love._

“Then I owe you both my gratitude.” He bowed, a show of surely non-existent respect in return for my lax behavior.

Signy tittered cheerily. She was in an awfully good mood, it was almost contagious. It solidified my resolve not to enlighten her about the poison. “Don’t bow, Aldous, it’s weird. Go soak in the sunlight. Audwin and I are going to... spend some quality time together.”

Excitement gushed through me, filling me with renewed vigor. I perked up, lifting my head to raise my eyebrows at my mischievous wife. Quality time, hm? That was my favorite kind of time.

Aldous muttered a few words resembling “have fun” before nearly running out of the bedroom. Signy and I shared a laugh at his embarrassment once the door shut behind him. The pages were turning over this chapter of our lives, and I couldn’t wait to see what the next chapter held for us.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading!!! I tried to convey the emotional progression of everyone at the end, especially Audwin. Next chapter will be the finale!!


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